


Happy Accidents

by LadySaira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crime Fighting, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Law Enforcement, Multi, SasuSaku - Freeform, sasukexsakura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 54,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29661888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySaira/pseuds/LadySaira
Summary: Sakura Haruno is just beginning her new job at Konoha P.D. as a forensic pathologist and anthropologist. What happens when she accidentally texts a risqué photo of herself to a stranger, intending to share new lingerie with her best friend?For her, it's the end of her dignity in the field solving murders, that's for sure. And what will happen when she realizes that her new partner, Sasuke Uchiha, is the most attractive, frustrating, kind, and annoying partner she's ever worked with?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 26
Kudos: 138





	1. Wrong Number

"Ahhh... Finally home."

The pink-haired doctor practically dropped the bags she was carrying as she looked around the new apartment she'd finally finished moving into. Tomorrow she was going to be starting at her new job, taking on the role of the local pathologist and forensic anthropologist for the Konoha Police Department. She'd just finished shopping for some new formal clothes for her job, as well as a few small things for herself just to boost her confidence.

That, and a new phone. Her old one had completely died, bad enough that she couldn't even recover the contacts from it. She was pretty sure she had Ino's number memorized, though, so she'd at least be able to reach her best friend.

Speaking of... She needed to make absolutely sure she shared her newest purchase with her friend. Lingerie was sort of their thing; if one of them bought something new, it was practically unwritten best-friend protocol for them to share it with the other. Taking a deep breath and grabbing the bag, Sakura quickly got herself into the new outfit and opened her phone, keying in Ino's number-642-555-0187- and sending the photo.

**_[IMAGE]_ **

_Sakura: "New lingerie!"_

Oh, she had a feeling Ino was going to want more pictures, but why not just send her a little bit? Ino was too fun to tease; the blonde loved lingerie shopping, so it was only fair to tease her best friend a little.

Her phone buzzed, and with a grin, she opened it to see the response.

_?: I think you sent this to the wrong person._

Her heart dropped.

Oh god. Of all the things she could do with her new phone, but-sending it to the wrong person?! It was one thing to send a text message, but-a risque photo of herself wearing lingerie?! That was even worse. Her dignity was absolutely shattered as she scrambled to fire replies back.

_Sakura: OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY._

_Sakura: I MEANT TO SEND THAT TO A FRIEND._

_Sakura: I'M SORRY._

_Sakura: I'M SO SORRY._

Panicked beyond belief, the poor pinkette tossed her phone to the side, grabbing the pillow and covering her head with it. She could hear the phone go off with a response, but she was far too panicked to respond to it. She had never been so embarrassed in her life. She was borderline ready to die of embarrassment. Here she'd thought she had her best friend's number memorized, but apparently not!

Finally gathering the courage, she pulled the phone toward her and opened it to see the response.

_?: It's okay. Don't worry about it._

Oh, thank goodness. Whoever it was that she'd inadvertently messaged was a sensible person, at least. Nevertheless, the poor girl was still flustered, hammering back apology after apology as a response.

_Sakura: I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY._

_Sakura: I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE EMBARRASSED IN MY LIFE._

The phone buzzed again with another response, and she couldn't bring herself to read it. Not right away, anyway. She needed to stop, and think. How was she going to get herself out of this situation? She had to offer something, right? Ino would probably tell her to ask for something back, but that was just her blonde friend being a saucy smartass as usual. She took a few more deep breaths and worked up the courage to check again, her jaw dropping at the two messages she'd received back.

_?: Don't worry about it._

_?: Nice outfit, though._

Nice outfit?! Oh, lord. She didn't even know who this person was, and they were complimenting her. Oh, lord. Hopefully, they were at least a good-looking individual on the other end, or she might find herself creeped out. She tried to imagine someone attractive before figuring out her response. Of course, attractive or not, Sakura was flustered beyond belief. She swore to herself she was going to send one last message, and nothing more. That would be the end of that conversation. Forever. She was never going to look at any message sent by that person ever again, no matter what.

_Sakura: Um... thanks. **[BLUSH EMOJI.]**_

Just as she sent it, her phone rang, showing a number she recognized.

642-555-0186.

SHE WAS OFF BY ONE DIGIT?!

Fumbling and scrambling, she answered the phone. "H-hello?!" She asked, hoping the blush wasn't audible in her voice.

"...Forehead?" Came a familiar, female voice. "Talk. What did you do. I was promised photos."

Oh, no. Her best friend could already tell.

"Um... Well- you see, Ino..."

"SPIT IT OUT, FOREHEAD!"

Oh, god. She was never going to live this down.

"So I went to send them to you, but you know, I got that new phone, right? My old one was so dead they couldn't transfer my contacts, so I thought I knew your number by heart, except... I didn't. I was one digit off. And I, um... I sent the images... to the wrong number."

The line was dead silent for a solid five seconds before absolutely raucous laughter could be heard on the other line. A cluttering noise could be heard as if the phone itself had fallen out of the blonde's hand from the utter cackling she was doing.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY, YOU PIG," Sakura shrieked into the phone, though it was clear her laughing friend couldn't hear her.

"Oh my god, Sakura, you are just... I can't even," Ino said through tears of laughter on the phone. "Please tell me you asked for-"

"NO," Sakura practically shrieked back, "I WAS NOT GOING TO ASK FOR IMAGES BACK."

"What? It would be fun, and you know it. Besides, you need yourself a hot date~"

"Oh, shut up. We are not going there," she replied grumpily. "I'll send them to you tomorrow when I fix my stupid contacts on my phone. I am so not sending that to someone else by accident, like my mom, or something."

"You know you're never going to live this one down, right?" Ino asked, a mischievious tone in her voice.

"Shut up. I know. Not a word, or I'll strangle you." Ino's only response to Sakura's threat was more giggling. Ino wasn't going to tell the masses, but she definitely wasn't going to let her best friend forget it.

"So, looking forward to the new job?" Ino asked, doing her best to change the subject.

"I mean, I guess I am," Sakura replied honestly. "I'm going to be doing a little more field work and investigation since I minored in criminal justice, so that'll be nice, at least. Hopefully whatever detective I get doesn't turn out to be some stuffy old bastard who hates a woman's opinion, or something.

"Ooh, maybe you'll get the new hottie that started yesterday," Ino mused. "He is hot stuff, Sakura. You don't even know how hot. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes, lean but clearly muscular, former military... quiet, but perceptive. He grew up in a small town not far from here. Played in a band for a few years, mostly keeps to himself now. Whole military family. His brother's a missing suspect in a few murders, too. Gives him an air of mystery, especially since he's the new Major Crimes detective."

"You figured all that out in one day?" Sakura asked, mildly dumbfounded.

"Oh please," Ino replied, chuckling. "I figured all that out on my lunch break." Sakura could just imagine her friend's smirk as she continued. "We're planning a July wedding."

"So you're going to dangle the carrot in front of me, then snag him for yourself? You're not very good at helping me get a date, when you're the one trying so hard to get me one in the first place. Leave some hotties for the rest of us, would you?" Sakura replied dryly.

"Hey, you're the one holding back. Look, if he somehow gets assigned to you, I'll let you have him. You can be all over that all you want." Ino paused. "You know, now that I'm imagining it, you two would make cute babies."

"INO!" Sakura shrieked, face turning bright red. She may not have seen this man yet, but knowing Ino's taste in men (and based on her description), he sounded incredibly attractive.

"What? I'm just stating facts. Don't get all hot and bothered about it, forehead."

"Shut up! I'm going to hang up if you're going to be a pig," Sakura snapped.

"Oink oink," came the blonde's teasing response.

"That's it. I'm hanging up."

"Bye sweetie! Love you!"

Sakura didn't even dignify her blonde friend's smartass comments with a response; she just hung up the line. Not uncommon between them, that was for sure. Today was enough, and her best friend wasn't helping, that was certain.

Well... she had plenty of work to do to prepare for tomorrow. She had lunches to make, unpacking to do, and she needed to make sure she washed her hair to save herself time tomorrow morning. It was time to crack down... and time to try and forget the horribly awkward incident from earlier.


	2. First Day

Doing her best to forget the embarrassing incident from the day before, Sakura got herself up and ready for work that morning, energetically ready to tackle the day. She was sure nothing entirely insane was going to happen on the first day; after all, most of it would just be brushing up on policies and procedures and getting herself settled. With her bag over her shoulder, tea in one hand, and a bagel in the other she made her way down to the autopsy area, moving into the mostly-empty office. It would eventually be filled with papers but for now, she would just have to make it her own.

Setting the coffee and bagel down on the desk, she turned to get herself settled... except someone was standing there.

Tall and handsome would be putting it mildly. He stood at least five-foot-ten, perhaps pushing six feet, with dark hair framing his face on either side, tousled in the back and on the top. He wore it a bit long, but the length looked good on him; it gave him a rugged and very masculine look. He was clean-shaven, with eyes dark like shimmering onyx and eyelashes that could make any girl jealous. Though his expression appeared neutral, there was a hint of mystery in his eyes; almost a bit of sadness, if Sakura were to describe it emotionally. Just the faintest air of quiet melancholy surrounding him despite his brusque appearance.

"So you're the new coroner." It wasn't a question, but a direct statement; his voice almost gave Sakura chills. Was this the new guy Ino had been talking about? Tall, dark, and handsome... oh, her friend's description hadn't done it justice, if that were the case.

"Ah! Yes, that's me," she said, metaphorically picking her jaw up off the floor. If he'd noticed her staring, he hadn't said anything; something told Sakura he was probably used to it if he'd looked like that all his life. She reached out a hand to shake, and he hesitantly took it, his larger, leather-clad hand almost engulfing her smaller delicate one. Something told her he wasn't one for physical contact, even hand-shakes.

"Dr. Sakura Haruno," she introduced.

"...Detective Uchiha," he replied with that same hesitation. He wouldn't even give his first name; it seemed like he was inclined to keep things from getting too personal.

"I was told I'd be working with someone in the field as well since I'll be serving as the local pathologist and anthropologist. I also have a degree in criminal psychology-"

"Yeah. Me." He cut her off before even letting her speak. He was... kind of rude if she was being honest. That, or he just didn't care about her credentials in the slightest. "We'll be working on major crimes. And we have a case already."

"Wait-already?" She asked, looking a bit overwhelmed.

His expression turned flat, almost annoyed. "Yeah." A curt reply was all she got before he seemed to scoff under his breath. "Hn... annoying," he muttered.

Did-he just call her... annoying? What a jerk! What a pompous, self-serving, uptight, self-righteous assho-

"Are you coming, or are you going to stand there and look stupid?" He asked, giving her a look... as if he thought she was stupid, or something. "Let's. Go."

"Okay, okay, sheesh, I'm coming," she replied, grabbing her jacket as she heard him sweep out of the room, his long jacket swaying behind him. He was making his way up the stairs as she scrambled to put on her jacket, running behind him and haphazardly carrying her bag and coffee-and even forgetting her bagel. She followed him up the stairs, scrambling to catch up. He certainly wasn't going to wait for her. Ino had talked about his looks, but clearly, she'd missed the part where he was a total jerk in her 'researching'!

"Will you slow down?!" She demanded, her shorter legs struggling to keep up. "You've got at least a foot of height on me, so my legs are not as long as yours, you know!" He seemed to pause for a minute, glancing at her before adjusting his pace wordlessly, though he looked annoyed at having to do so. Huffing as she shrugged her jacket on, she reached for her car keys, before he cleared his throat.

"Don't worry about it. We'll take mine." It seemed to be less of a request and more of a statement, but she wasn't going to complain. While she wouldn't consider herself a bad driver, he was undoubtedly the better one; his police training alone would allow for that. Shrugging and moving her keys from her pocket to her bag, she zipped it up and followed, moving to the passenger side while he got in the driver's side.

"So, what do we know so far? You were briefed, but I wasn't." Her question was met with silence... until he reached into the back seat, pulling forward a file and handing it to her wordlessly. Gee, talk about a social butterfly, Sakura thought to herself sarcastically, rolling her eyes and opening the file. It wasn't much, but it was a start; the most they knew was that it was a female found in the river, unidentified, and initial appearance hadn't matched a description of any missing persons. That was of course without the report of a pathologist; once Sakura was able to determine that information, things would change drastically.

Pretending to read the file, Sakura made small glances at the detective out of the corner of her eye, wondering what else she could pick up. In the smaller space, she could smell whatever cologne he was wearing; it was light, but faintly masculine, with hints of... sage and cedarwood, from what she could tell. Wait... no, it wasn't quite cologne; the smell was too light, so it had to be aftershave. Nevertheless, it was a nice smell, with an oddly calming effect to it.

"Do you need something?" He asked bluntly, having glanced at her out of the corner of his gaze, clearly noticing her stare. Tearing her gaze away, she returned to the file and faked a confused expression, like she didn't know what he was talking about. She heard the smallest sigh come from him, followed by a quiet, "stop staring," under his breath, and... did he just roll his eyes at her, too?

Oh, you can let Ino have this one, Sakura. Good-looking or not, he's kind of a jerk. So far he'd managed to ruin her morning, force her to skip breakfast, make her look like a fool, and treat her like a lump of stupid. Unbelievable! And this was supposed to be the new guy in the Major Crimes department? This was the guy that she was going to be working with? This jerk was going to be helping her talk to families, solve crimes, and arrest suspects? Unbelievable. The only place she could see his jerk-ass demeanour being useful was an interrogation room!

Flipping closed the document, she pulled out her phone and fired a text to her best friend, hoping he wouldn't suddenly decide that she was wasting time texting in the vehicle. It wasn't like he was much of a conversationalist, anyway.

_**Sakura:** You missed something when you did your digging on the new hottie yesterday. _

_**Ino:** Missed? Oh, tell me, forehead!_

_**Sakura:** Yeah. You missed the fact that he's a total jerk. _

_**Ino:** Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. What did he say?_

_**Sakura:** He's just... god, I don't even know how to describe it! He's rude, he's cold, he doesn't seem to listen or care what I have to say, all kinds of things!_

Well, that felt good to get off her chest. She could see that he was glancing in her direction, and she did her best to mask her expression, keeping it neutral. He seemed to keep glancing in her direction, though she couldn't read the expression on his face on account of staring at her phone.

_**Ino:** Maybe he just doesn't trust people. He's a cop after all, and you're a new partner for him. Maybe he just hasn't warmed up to you yet?_

_**Sakura:** I doubt it. He's acting like I'm holding him back or something. Or like me being around annoys him or makes him uncomfortable. He's rude and impatient, too!_

_**Ino:** Calm down, Sakura. It'll be fine! Give him more than an hour to warm up to you. Cops are hit and miss, you know that._

_**Sakura:** I know. I'm just angry. He made me forget my bagel. _

_**Ino:** So what you're saying is that you're angry, because you haven't had breakfast. _

_**Sakura:** Yes, very much so._

Sakura let out a small laugh under her breath, shaking her head as she responded with clear disdain to Ino's message. It was then that the detective finally spoke up.

"Something wrong?" He asked curiously. Not expecting the question, Sakura floundered for a moment before coming up with an answer.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Just my, um... Boyfriend. Um. Probably soon to be... Ex-boyfriend. Being, um, his usual self, which is a jerk." Boyfriend, really? That's your excuse, Sakura? Curse her for having to come up with something at the last minute. And talk about diminishing her chances at getting anywhere with the jerk she was now paired with-

"Hn. If he causes you any grief, let me know." Wait, was he... being nice, now? It sounded like he almost cared. That was odd, given he'd been a jerk up until now. Granted as a cop, he probably had respect for women that other men didn't. Such as her... fake ex-boyfriend.

She turned back to her phone, trying to put that thought out of her mind.

_**Ino:** Okay. Definite jerk vibes. Don't worry, sweetie. I can always give him a little bit of a hard time when he comes to beg me for a warrant or two. 3_

_**Sakura:** As long as it doesn't impede investigations... but he probably deserves it. _

_**Ino:** Oh, sweetie, don't you worry. I'll set that man straight, just for you. And hey, our bet's still on. He's your new partner, so I'm leaving him to you. _

_**Sakura:** Yeah, yeah. I'm not so confident it'll work out anyway if he's like this_. _Oh-gotta go. Call me tonight?_

_**Ino:** You bet, sweetie. Go kick ass!_

"We're here." His voice pulled her away from the conversation, shoving the phone back into her bag and exiting as he'd finished parking the car. She grabbed the file, closing the door behind her and making sure she had everything.

Well, here went nothing: her first investigation alongside the new detective.


	3. Dignity

As they arrived at the crime scene, Sakura was quick to spot the forensic team surveying the area, nodding at a few of them. They appeared glad to see her; one girl with brown hair tied in buns atop her head was especially cheerful, giving her a friendly wave. Sakura recognized her from Ino—she was Tenten, the ballistics expert, and was standing next to Neji Hyuga, one of the behavioural psychologists assigned to the department. They appeared to be close, judging from the way they would jovially chat as they were working.

Sakura quickly got to work examining the body, gloved hand gently lifting parts of the remains to examine them. "Based on the cranial sutures and the maxilla, the subject appears to be female, early twenties. The water appears to have prevented some decomposition along the lower extremities, but the state of the upper body suggests that she had risen to the surface at some point, perhaps snagged downstream on some branches or rocks that prevented the current from pulling her," she said idly as she did her examination. It was preliminary, of course; she would be able to determine more once she was able to do a full autopsy and anthropological exam.

"Appears to have been shorter; based on the approximate length of the tibia and spine, she was no more than four foot eleven, maybe five feet. I'll be able to tell better when I can lay the bones out. Some bone remodelling of the jaw suggests she broke that as well as her cheekbone at some point—I can see some remodelling here on the clavicle and sternum as well." She glanced up at the detective, who had... an odd expression on his face. Though his face appeared neutral, his eyes looked... sad. Very sad.

"So it's possible she was either in a fight when she was younger, or... signs of abuse?" He asked curiously, taking down notes as he spoke. "What's that, over there?" He asked, pointing to one portion of the skull that appeared damaged.

"There appears to be damage caused by a gunshot wound to the head... a nine millimetre, based on the approximate size. There appears to be some damage to the hand as well; likely the victim tried to shield herself from her attacker. There's a third wound through the left patella, suggesting she was shot in the knee, perhaps to stop her before she was killed." It was amazing what injuries could be determined solely by paying attention to the damage to a corpse.

"Or to make sure she couldn't escape before she was shot," Detective Uchiha muttered, a hint of anger in his voice. Sakura couldn't blame him; anyone cold enough to murder another person was worth hating as far as she was concerned.

"Hmm... there's some scraping along the orbital bone... I'll need to get this back to the lab to confirm, but..." She made a face, and he looked at her curiously.

"But what?" He asked.

"Based on the angle and the lack of tissue... it's entirely possible that her assailant... removed her eyes from their sockets before dumping the body," she said slowly, a sick feeling in her gut. Even he looked almost ill at the thought.

"That's all I can determine for now. Forensics can pack up the body and I'll examine it back at the lab. You and I can head back, for the time being. We can check missing persons for records and see if we can attach an identity to our victim." Standing up, Sakura snapped off her gloves and tossed them in one of the nearby biohazard bags.

"So... that's it?" He asked, almost seeming impatient.

Sakura gave him a flat look. "Unless you have a mobile lab, yes. Are you always this grumpy and impatient?" She asked bluntly, frowning at him. She was about done with his pushy attitude. "Unless your next step is to apologize for seemingly questioning my two doctorates and Master's degree, I suggest you pipe down."

He grunted in annoyance. "I wasn't. Let's head back."

"Fine." She brusquely walked past him, practically stomping her way to the car while she mentally hurled vulgarities at him. She so wasn't going to be cut out for this. Not if he was going to be this much of a problem for her. She would have to set some ground rules if they were going to be working together. One of them was going to be 'don't rush Sakura in the morning when she's having her morning bagel'!

In her stomping, she was too distracted to notice the uneven ground; one of her feet slipped, causing her to nearly face plant right into a mud puddle. The only thing that stopped her was a firm hand grasping her upper arm, hoisting her a bit so she wouldn't fall right in. Upon glancing back, she saw the detective with that same annoyed look on his face, and he quickly lifted her back up to her feet. He had helped her, sure, but his next words just threw her for a loop.

"Watch where you're going." He was blunt again like he was scolding a child. Unbelievable! He practically ran hot and cold! One moment he was being nice, and the next he was being a jerk. She just wished he'd make up his mind already. Then she wouldn't feel like she was having to alter how she interacted every five seconds when he decided to be nice!

Looking down, she realized that tripping meant her tea had... also spilled everywhere. She let out a soft moan of disappointment, expression turning dejected as she made her way back to the car behind the detective. She got in the car and sat down grumpily, the frustration of the morning putting her in a bad mood. And of course, frustration meant if it got any worse, she'd be ready to have an angry cry over it.

They drove in silence, not a single word between them until Sakura realized they were making an early stop. Did she glance up only to see... a coffee shop? Wordlessly the detective got out, glancing at her.

"Wait here." So he—wasn't even going to ask her to come in now?! Oh, she was about ready to lay into him, but not yet. No. She'd wait until his jerk ass got back from being inside, long enough for her to mentally formulate her rant before she'd give him a piece of her mind. If Sakura had one thing, it was a volatile temper, and he'd just managed to evoke it exponentially. She waited and waited until she finally heard the car door open again, drawing in a deep breath and finally speaking.

"Listen here, Detective," she bit out tartly. "I am not—" something was quickly shoved under her nose. A familiar smell. Cinnamon and raisin, to be exact, with the smell of warm butter along with it, and... was that the smell of peppermint tea, too?

"Here." He was holding it aloft to her, like a silent apology; there was a hint of guilt in his expression, though it was clear he wasn't going to verbally say it. Even just offering the silent apology seemed to cause him discomfort. Slowly she took the bagel, her expression softening slowly.

"...Thanks," she said, unwrapping it to take a small bite.

"Yeah," he responded curtly as he shifted the vehicle back into gear. Okay, so... maybe she'd misjudged. A lot. Maybe he was just socially awkward with new people. So socially awkward that it made him come off as abrasive. That was a possibility, right? Certainly not out of the ordinary.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. It seemed she could at least count on him to look out for her. If they were going to be following leads, she was going to need that.

"So," she began as she nibbled on her bagel. "I heard you used to be military." Oh, great subject to start on, Haruno, she internally sassed herself. "Bet that, uh, led to a pretty good skill set for solving crimes, huh?"

"Yeah." Simple answers only, as expected...

"So... what division? Anything special?"

"...sniper." Was his vocabulary stunted or something.

"Oh. So you're a pretty good shot, then."

"Sure." He seemed to smirk a little like it was a stroke to his ego (which it was).

"Marksman first class?" Now she was intrigued. The man appeared to have a bit of an ego, though he didn't seem to flaunt it.

"Yeah. We're here." She hadn't even noticed he'd parked. She followed him out, glad to have finally eaten something. Oh, she certainly wasn't herself when she was hungry. Looking back on it, she'd perhaps been a bit too grumpy toward him, but his attitude hadn't helped, either. Maybe she should apologize for it? That would be best, right?

"Hey," she started, picking up her pace to match his. "I'm sorry if I was cranky and kind of a jerk. It's my first day, and you sort of came in and rushed me before I had a moment to even settle in, and I hadn't eaten anything, so I was unfair to you." Hopefully, that was genuine enough.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He'd pulled out his phone, absently checking it. "They're a few minutes out with the remains. I'm going to follow up on some leads while you handle that. Here." He handed her a business card. "Call me or text me if you find anything useful."

She took the card and pocketed it with a nod. "Sure. I'll see what I can find." With a wave she bid him farewell, making her way down to the autopsy area and swiping her access card to enter. She had a few minutes to settle, so she made her way to her office, pulling out her phone and keying in the number on his business card. At least the card had his full name—Detective Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, huh... a fitting name for a guy like him.

What came up on her phone was what shattered the remnants of her dignity. As she keyed in the number, it appeared to be tied to a conversation already.

Oh...

Oh, no.

She checked. Double checked. Triple checked. QUADRUPLE checked. But what stared her in the face couldn't be ignored. So much for her dignity. Her reputation. Her sanity.

His number: 642-555-0187.

The very same number she had accidentally sent a risqué photo to the night before.


	4. It Was An Accident!

Getting out of this mess was going to be difficult for the Haruno woman. She would have to face the music eventually, but first, she needed some backup. Or more accurately, a soundboard for facing the horrible social suicide she was about to commit.

Only one person could help her sanely deal with all of this: Ino. Gathering her papers to look like she was on official business, she made her way up to the blonde's office, not even knocking before entering since she could see no one was in there anyway. She scuttled in, closed the door, and just stared at her friend. Ino stared back, confused at first, then her face broke into a smirk.

"You look like you just committed social suicide, or are about to. Did your mouth say something your brain couldn't stop in front of hot-stuff, or what?" Leave it to Ino to go right to teasing her without missing a beat.

"No. And shut up," the pinkette snarked back, wrinkling her nose and puffing her cheeks out indignantly. She slapped a couple of files down on the desk. "First of all, I'm here with the documentation for warrants for the case, and second, shut up, I have not committed social suicide yet"

"...Yet?" The smirk grew wider.

"Okay. More like. He doesn't know. Yet."

"Know wha—" there was a pause. Silence filled the room, and Ino's face lit up like a light bulb as she figured it out. "No," she said in utter disbelief before bursting into audible, raucous laughter. She was leaned back in her chair, laughing herself to the moon and pointing. All Sakura could do was stand there in total humiliation.

"You... it was him you sent it to? By accident?" More guffaws escaped her as she failed to reign herself in. Tears could be seen streaming down her face. Of course, she thought it was funny.

"Yeah, well—stop laughing!" Sakura demanded, her face so red with embarrassment she could feel her ears burning. "I need your help, you cow!" She stomped her foot, looking lost. Her insult only made the blonde laugh harder, holding up a hand so she could catch her breath.

"Okay, okay, okay," she said, taking a few deep breaths. "So... you found out that the number you inadvertently texted was his. And he doesn't know yet. And he's also been the world's biggest ass to you most of the day." She laid out... most of what happened.

"Most—well... kind of. Honestly, I don't even know. He... He got straight to business, and he acted like I was wasting his time, but... he was also kind of sweet, too. In this weird... almost constipated way."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Constipated..?"

"Yeah... I don't know how else to describe it. When we were on the way back, we stopped at a coffee shop, and he just walked in without saying anything. I was so mad, thinking he was just getting his coffee, but he came out with a fresh, warm bagel for me, and said he noticed I forgot mine. It was like... for a second, maybe, he felt bad that I missed breakfast because he rushed me. And when we were out examining the remains he caught me when I tripped going uphill." Blowing a raspberry in frustration, the doctor plopped down in one of the chairs.

"I don't know, Ino. I can't read him. And it bothers me."

"Oh, sweetie, that's because you've always been good at reading people. You are weirdly naturally empathetic, and you just haven't figured him out yet. It's your first day. Take a breath. You'll find a soft spot eventually." She winked. "You always do."

Sakura's face softened. "You think so?" She asked warily.

"I know so," Ino replied confidently. "Anyway. Now to figure out your social suicide. He seems like a sensible guy, so he'll know it was a mistake. Just make sure he's nowhere near when you text him, so he can just pretend he deleted the conversation. Less chance for awkwardness. Otherwise, you'll talk it out. It was an honest mistake. Besides, didn't he compliment the outfit?"

"Yeah, he did," Sakura confirmed.

"Then you don't have to worry. If he liked it, it could work in your favour." The blonde was back to her mischievous grin again. "Now go back downstairs, play with your guts and flesh and bones to solve a murder, and then text him when you're done. Your head will clear when you play with gross things. It always does."

Sakura's expression and tone turned flat. "Thank you for having such high praise for the work I do," she replied sarcastically. "How motivating."

"Hey. It's gross to me. But someone needs to do the job," Ino replied honestly. "Might as well let the person doing it be a cutie, right? It'll make it so much easier for you when you crack and decide you want to date a hot cop." She winked.

Sakura scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're such a pig," she muttered, standing up from her chair. "Thanks, I guess." Ino simply waved with a smile. Despite her pain-in-the-ass tendencies, the blonde would always be her best friend.

"Bye, don't sleep with hot stuff and not tell me all the details!" She teased. Sakura made a couple of pig-like snorting noises at her, sticking her tongue out before exiting the office. She could hear the chuckle from her friend just as she closed the door.

Making her way back down to the autopsy area, Sakura began making quick work of the remains she had, using work as a means to distract herself from what she would have to face. She was slowly contemplating what she had to do as she processed and examined each piece she'd been brought, using the voice recorder on her phone to verbally take notes during her examination. She could tell whoever had done this was... well, sick, to say the least. The poor victim had been tortured relentlessly, dying a slow death from sheer blood loss, followed by having the eyes removed and being thrown off a bridge into the water with attached weights in an attempt to cover things up. She made notes of various fracturing and breaks to the bones, scrapes in the flesh that indicated damage, and even toxicological evidence that some drugging may have been done to make the process easier. A paralytic, more accurately. It was both sad and sickening.

Realizing hours had passed, the pinkette snapped her gloves off and reached for her phone, drawing in a deep breath and opening it to look at the old messages. He'd been so... nonchalant about the situation. Like he knew it was an honest mistake but had no reason to complain. Well, Sakura guessed he'd probably seen better than her in lingerie anyway, she figured; with an appearance like that she was sure he'd been with a few pretty girls. Prettier than her, probably.

It was time to face the music. She drew in a deep breath and began typing her message, summarizing what she'd found. She wouldn't mention anything about the old messages. Not a word. If he asked, then she would talk about it. Otherwise, she'd pretend it never happened. Ever.

She'd finished keying in her message and hit the second button just as she heard the doors open, seeing... none other than the aforementioned detective standing there. He was approaching her, opening his mouth to ask her something... when his phone buzzed.

"One moment," he said, and Sakura felt her stomach drop. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no! That message was likely hers, which meant—he was going to see it! This was exactly what Ino had told her not to let happen!

Social suicide. Absolute social suicide. She hoped she'd just die of embarrassment on the spot. Then she wouldn't have to face the inevitable conversation.

He looked at his phone, reading the message... before blinking a few times and scrolling up. Then scrolling back down. Then up, before turning his gaze back on her. He stared, looking her up and down, and... was he blushing, or was she so deeply in shock she was hallucinating now? The latter. Definitely the latter.

"...oh," he said almost curiously, the corner of his lips tugging at a smirk. "Hmm..." The mix of curiosity and mischievousness in his expression was killing her. All she could do was stand there and stare in total humiliation, incoherent noises coming from her.

This was it. Her life was over. Her chances were shot. Ruined. Trampled on. Destroyed. Incinerated. Her dignity had been cremated by her shame.


	5. Bygones

Socially speaking, this was the worst situation Sakura had ever found herself in. One wrong move and she could find herself canned for a lack of professionalism. Not a case she wanted to argue, that was for sure.

"I-" She stammered, feeling her face start turning redder and redder with embarrassment. He seemed to notice, shrugging it off.

"Forget it. It was just an accident." Accident or not, she could swear there was the faintest colour to his cheeks, though he seemed to be doing his best not to draw attention to it. "Just don't let it happen again."

She swallowed bard, nodding. "Oh, um, I guess since you're here, we can go over the-findings. Um, what I found, I mean." Now she was a stammering mess, stiffly making her way to the table.

"My initial examination was incorrect in some areas. Upon closer inspection, our victim is female, no more than twenty-three, with notable fractures on either hand. Slight remodelling suggests that these were sustained at the start of or during her capture and that based on wear and strain to the wrists and ankles, it's likely she was bound and tortured. The damage to the orbital bone suggests her eyes were removed post-mortem, compared to the perimortem damage to the hands, wrists, and ankles."

"What about the damage to the skull?" He asked curiously.

"That's what gets me. The M.O. of the gunshot with the torture, it doesn't fit. We're missing something. A gunshot somewhere else on the body I could believe, but right now I can't tell if that happened or not. I'll have to clean the bones and examine them directly to determine what I can. Right now, something just isn't adding up." She didn't like it when this happened. When things just didn't quite fall into place. Behaviour was a series of patterns, and a lack thereof was usually a bad sign when it came to crime.

"Hn... frustrating," he mumbled as he scribbled down a few more notes, flipping it shut before staring at her. "You've been down here since we got back. Go get your bones cleaned and go home. They won't be going anywhere any time soon." He was turning to leave wordlessly as usual before Sakura snapped her gloves off and raced toward him.

"H-hey, wait!" She called, and he turned around with a curious expression, standing with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"I, uh... could I maybe buy you a drink? You know, for the whole... photo thing." She needed to do something. She felt pretty terrible. He seemed to think about it, a smirk tugging the corners of his lips before he turned around, raising a hand in a goodbye wave.

"Maybe next time." Ouch. Blown off just like that. She just wanted to make amends. Why wouldn't he let her? And why the hell was he smirking like that? Huffing grumpily, Sakura plopped down in her office chair, sighing. He was so... hot and cold. One moment he was warm and comfortable, the next he felt like the polar vortex. And yet something was endearing about it. About him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he seemed... genuinely kind. Perhaps a bit socially awkward, but he didn't seem to be intentionally malicious. He cared, in whatever weird way suited him.

Deciding to take his advice, she got up and started the process to clean the bones for tomorrow, wishing she wasn't yawning so much. By the time she left, it was quite late, and she certainly wasn't going to be up much later. Regardless, she made her way to her car, slowing only as she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. It felt like she was being watched, but she was too afraid to turn around. Sure, she was trained in self-defence, but at the end of the day, that could only go so far in some situations.

Taking the plunge and looking behind her, she thought she saw something move in the shadows of the parking structure but quickly turned around as she heard a car door open and close. The sound startled her, but she quickly calmed as she saw the detective in front of her.

"D-detective Uchiha," she stammered, feeling her heart racing and full of adrenaline. "I-I thought you went home." She'd thought she was the last one left.

"...Forgot something," he muttered absently, his gaze trained on... something. Something behind her? She couldn't tell. Whatever it was, she was freaked the hell out and just wanted to go home. His gaze flicked down back to her, his taller stature making him crane his neck down just slightly to look at her. "Go home," he said bluntly.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she fumbled for her keys to unlock the door of her car, nodding. "Y-yeah. I'll see you tomorrow," she said with a nod as she started to get in.

"Hey." His sharp voice brought her attention back. He stared at her with a deadpan expression, but there was a seriousness in his expression. "Call me if you need anything." His tone made it feel like he meant if it was work-related, but his expression held something else behind it, something she couldn't quite pinpoint just yet.

"Yeah... I will," she said with a small nod as she closed the door to her car, starting it up. With a small wave, she pulled out of her spot and was on her way, annoyed that he seemed to always leave her with more questions than answers. It was like every time they spoke, she wanted to ask him so many more things, none of which she could pinpoint why.

Reaching her home, she deposited her things and was quick to run a bath, throwing together a small, light meal that she could munch on while the tub filled. A good soak in some hot water would relax her and give her time to think. Sinking into the warm water, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling, mentally trying to organize her thoughts. She compartmentalized everything as best she could; there were facts on the case from her examination that she was mentally listing and organizing, followed by everything she'd learned about the detective so far.

With the latter, she determined she needed more, and she was going to do a little investigation of her own. Reaching for her phone, she started to enter search parameters, and after a few searches, she came across something.

A news article. Two dead in a house fire, child survives. Reading through the article... it was a hard read. The cause of the fire was suspected arson, but not confirmed; the bodies of the two adults were set with an accelerant. They had two sons; one was twelve and had gone missing after the fire, and the youngest—age seven—was left with burns to a third of his torso, both hands and arms, and parts of his legs. Not severe, but extensive. Gruesome to say the least. The story was horrifying.

The detective did seem to wear gloves...but that could just be a habit. She hadn't seen him without them, though.

She searched further, looking for the name of the missing child. She found articles on gang activity, and the more she dug, the less it seemed to make sense. It sounded as if the child, at age twelve, had become part of a gang; his identity was unconfirmed by sources. A gang by the name of Akatsuki, whose exploits were coming closer and closer to that of a mafia. Much bigger than a street gang...

As she dried her hair and got dressed in her pyjamas, she wondered if he'd ever tell her at some point. She felt a little guilty snooping on his life like that, but if what she read was true then his behaviour made sense. Some of the articles implied the older sibling was responsible for the fires; it'd left the youngest boy orphaned with no family to take care of him. Just imagining being in the condition he would have, undergoing skin grafts and rehabilitation, all while an orphan forced into foster care? It made the young doctor's heart wrench to think about. No wonder he seemed to keep people at arm's length.

She'd ask him about it... one day. Not soon, but at some point. What she did know was that starting tomorrow, she would do better to show him he could trust her. She'd be nicer. More patient. Probably a little more strict and vocal, but in a kind way. Trust would go a long way between them, without a doubt.


	6. New Evidence

Sakura woke up the next morning bright and refreshed, ready to tackle the day. After the digging, she had done last night she found herself determined to ensure that there was an element of trust between her and her new partner. Maybe she was going a bit overboard, but if they did well on the case and worked hard, maybe they could do it. It was for that reason she was coming extra prepared: she was bringing her fresh coffee grinds to her office to make some good high-quality coffee, including her milk steamer so she could have lattes; she was also packing a nice hearty lunch with enough rice balls to share. She wasn't sure what the detective liked, but she figured anything with tuna mayonnaise would be a safe bet. Her own was made with pickled plums and separated so they wouldn't get mixed.

Satisfied with her work, she packed everything up and made it to her car, stopping along the way at the same coffee shop he'd stopped by yesterday and ordering herself a white hot chocolate and a cinnamon raisin bagel; she also opted for a plain buttered bagel and a black coffee for him. Getting into her car again, she turned her phone on hands-free and dialled the detective as she was on her way to the office.

"Uchiha," he answered politely.

"Hey, it's Dr. Haruno. I did some digging on some of the x-rays last night and I thought it'd be best if we worked through things together while I examine the bones. I can't bring them up to your office, but there's space in mine if you wanted to work there. I think it'll be better that way and then I don't have to feel weird dictating my audio notes." That was the one part she hated about her job: she couldn't take physical notes, meaning she had to verbally dictate them on a recording. Essentially, it meant she spent most of her day talking to herself.

"Yeah. Good idea. I have old case files you may want to look at. Bones are buried already, but I have x-rays and coroner's reports you can reference." That sounded promising, for sure.

"At this point, the behaviour indicates we're dealing with something bigger than just one attack. Hopefully, I can find some sort of link between them. Just parking now, see you in five." She hung up the call and gathered her things, briskly walking to the small kitchenette area to put a few things away. She got her coffee grinds in the freezer, milk steamer plugged in, and the rice balls ready to go on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap to preserve them. She'd just finished when the door opened, leaving her to greet the sour-faced detective with a smile.

"Morning! There's coffee for you and I even have extras for lunch if you'd like. I, uh, had some extra rice I needed to use up, so I thought I might as well make extra." Now that was a lie. He stared at her, eyes narrowed like he didn't believe her for a second before offering a grunt and sitting down at the table. He glanced at the coffee and almost begrudgingly took it, glancing at the bagel.

"There's a plain one with butter or cream cheese, whatever you prefer. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got the most versatile flavour." There was a pause as he slowly reached for the bagel, taking the cream cheese and spreading it a bit before he spoke.

"...sun-dried tomato," he said simply. She was confused for a moment, before remembering the little cafe had quite the selection. Sun-dried tomato, huh... she'd have to remember that for next time.

"Okay. I'll just be laying the bones out and then I'll put up the old files' x-rays to compare." She got to work quietly setting up the bones one by one as she turned and compared. She started to verbally dictate her notes, not sure if he was listening or not, but the more she looked, the more she found. One thing was off, though...

"Detective? In case 85774, there was a suspected weapon listed as evidence, wasn't there? What was it?" She asked, moving over and away from the bone table as she held one of the ribs in her hands. She was examining it carefully.

"Yeah, it was a long sort of stake-like weapon. Why?" He asked, looking at her curiously.

"The damage to this rib isn't consistent with a traditional weapon. Whatever it was entered at the point, but the flesh seemed to have been torn, like... whatever it was shoved in. Skin is flexible, but with enough force..." She shuddered at the thought.

"Wait. Wait, hold on," she said, rushing back to check the skull. "What was the diameter?"

"1 centimetre."

Something clicked in her head, leaving her snapping her fingers. "That would explain the damage here to the skull in these two cases. There was an apparent entrance wound, but no exit wound, and significant amounts of fracturing. What we thought was a bullet hole was in actuality a stake-like weapon being used as a dagger. If there the case, the weapon has to have some significance. That also explains why the trace swab report came back with titanium and steel as opposed to lead, which is what bullets are commonly made of, and why no bullet was ever found, nor a shell casing." As she'd spoken she hadn't noticed the detective got up, coming over to curiously examine what she was looking at... nor did she notice that for a brief second, he was staring more at her than he was the skull she held in her hands.

"So... is it some kind of ritualistic weapon?" He asked curiously.

"For these two, yes. The damage to the body we found yesterday is inconsistent in terms of usage, but the same in terms of location. These patterns indicate a gunshot, and the trajectory indicates it likely exited through the nasal cavity or below the jaw, which is consistent with a few of the rib injuries; there wasn't enough flesh to determine that for sure, but the bones can tell me that. Most likely the original was hand-crafted, which means it could have been traced or made by him. Since we have the one in evidence, it's possible that he was forced to—or chose to—change his method. Either to cover his tracks or because he's escalating. Some of the other rib injuries on yesterday's victim were made with a sharper tool, like a shaped ceremonial dagger with a double-bladed edge. It's more likely a collector's item or something along those lines." The more she spoke the more animated she became... until it dawned on her.

"This means... that if the damage is consistent with the remainder of the other cases... that we have a serial murder on our hands," she said quietly. That made her heart sink. "Every victim is female, fair features... so far three seem to be consistent, but what seemed to vary was throwing her off. Different hair colours, different eye colours... nothing seemed to match. Taking the eyes was what threw her off. It made her stomach churn, made the hairs on the back of her neck raise, and made her deeply nervous. She hated things like this on cases; when it involved females and she didn't have all the answers, she always felt so... vulnerable.

"...Everything okay?" Sasuke asked, setting a hand on her shoulder. It drew her out of her momentary thought processes, drawing her attention toward his gaze. His expression seemed softer than usual. Almost... caring.

"Yeah, I just... cases like these make me uncomfortable. Especially when it's women. It's just that gut feeling, you know?" Why was she suddenly inclined to open up to him about this? Just yesterday they'd been nearly at each other's throats.

"If... if we consider the damage to the bodies, then... each stab was perimortem but non-lethal. The injuries to the torso weren't enough to kill them. Only the final blow to the skull did. That meant they just slowly suffered in pain, knowing they were going to die." The soft side of her was beginning to surface, the side that could empathize with the victims' suffering.

"Don't worry," he replied bluntly. "So far... you've proven to be an invaluable partner when it comes to solving cases. You got more information out of a few x-rays and some bones than anyone else did. You put pieces together no one else could. You're my partner. I have your back." That softness was back, and though his facial expression didn't change? It was obvious he cared. He reached up with one hand, lightly poking her in the center of her forehead.

"Excellent work, doctor," he said, turning away with a small smirk and going back to his files. It took a moment for her to catch up mentally; she was too busy wondering why her face and ears suddenly felt hot. She finally shook herself back to reality as he was packing up his things. Were they done already? Had the day gone by that quickly? No, it couldn't have—by the time on the clock, they'd only been here for a few hours.

"What are you—"

"Going to look up some data and cross-reference suspects and see what warrants I can get granted. I'll come to get you in a bit. Keep looking for anything we can use." With a flourish he was quickly on his way, leaving a still-confused Sakura wondering what had just happened.

Or more accurately... why he was suddenly being so nice to her. Maybe he, too, had looked into something, or perhaps decided his initial behaviour had been a bit much. Maybe Ino had given him a hard time behind her back; Sakura wouldn't put it past the blonde to do such a thing. Regardless, she had a job to do. She needed to be as informed as she could before they went out to question suspects. The better of an understanding they had to go on, the better luck they would have compiling more information.

They were getting closer. They just needed one good link. And she was determined to find that link.


	7. Field Work

Finishing up with the last of her examinations, Sakura carefully put the bones away and set her notes to start converting to physical documents which she would proofread later. Her impeccable memory meant that she could recall what she'd recorded, enabling her to reference it easily without it being in front of her. By the time the detective returned she had packed up her things and was ready to go.

"Okay, so who are we going to start with?" she asked curiously. "Oh, um, your car, I assume?"

"Yes, mine. It has sirens and lights if we need them. We're going to talk to a few people. Dental records confirmed the victim as Kin Tsuchi, a resident of Oto."

"So she wasn't a local," Sakura surmised.

"No. Not even close. Oto's at least three hours away, but it's connected by the river, so she was either brought here and dumped with the hope no one would find her, or she floated down the river for a while," he replied.

"The former," she corrected. "Damage to the skeleton didn't indicate she'd moved far along the river. There would have been less remaining flesh and the body likely would have been in worse condition, and we would have had to dredge the river for the rest of the remains." Sasuke let out a grunt at her correction like he was upset he didn't notice such a thing—or think of it—himself.

"So who do we have to talk to that's related to this?"

"Dosu Kinuta and Zaku Abumi, her roommates. Both have records. Dosu was brought in on drug trafficking charges, while Zaku has been in for aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. They're both out on parole right now. Kin had a solicitation charge, but she was never convicted. They had a good lawyer though he's a slimy snake as far as I know." The way he spoke, he sounded disgusted by whomever their defence lawyer was.

"Yeah? Which lawyer?"

"Orochimaru Hebi," Sasuke bit out bitterly.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of him all right." Oh, had she ever. Ino had complained for hours at length about just how much of a snake he was. She hated him, deeply.

"You have?" He asked curiously.

"...She didn't tell you when you went to get the warrants, did she." It wasn't a question.

Sasuke shook his head slowly in confusion. "No. Tell me what?"

"DA Yamanaka? She's my best friend. We've been friends since elementary school, and we were college roommates. Not that we ever saw each other in college. I was buried in medical degrees, and she was buried in her LSATs." She simply shrugged, but then frowned at the state he was giving her.

"Hold on. You're a forensic anthropologist and pathologist?" He asked incredulously. "No way. Not a chance. What year did you graduate high school?"

"Thirteen, why?"

He stared even more. "Thirteen. You were—a fourteen-year-old college student." It was like he didn't believe her... but unfortunately for him, it was the truth. The expression he wore looked like she'd just sucked-punched his ego into another plane of existence.

"Yeah. I'm smart. Thanks for noticing that yesterday, by the way," she threw back with a hint of snark. She wasn't that upset, but it had still stung a little.

"...sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have been so rude." Now there's was unexpected. Was he suddenly humbled by her intelligence? How nonsensical. There he was again, flipping between hot and cold over and over again. Well, whatever had happened last night seemed to warm his heart a little; he was more talkative, albeit only briefly. He'd gone silent again after his apology, before clearing his throat and continuing.

"Dosu and Zaku won't answer questions easily. Don't be surprised if we end up chasing them down." It was like he expected one of them to fight back. Granted, being ex-cons, what else was to be expected? Most of them preferred to avoid cops at all costs, to avoid being accused of something else.

"Any other leads to follow?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yeah, we have a warrant to search the place, though I hope we don't have to use it. Hopefully, they'll just let us in to look. If they aren't back into anything illegal, then they should let us in without the warrant." Sounded easy enough. With their luck, though, Sakura had a feeling it wasn't going to go that smoothly, and it seemed the detective felt the same way.

"You're expecting them to run, aren't you," she pointed out flatly.

He chuckled. "Yeah. Most ex-cons will."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful." She shook her head, sighing. The rest of their car ride remained quiet and uneventful, Sakura idly watching the scenery until they arrived at the apartment. It was a cheap place, a fact which became more and more evident as they entered the building. The elevator was blocked off with hazard tape, and according to their evidence... they had to go to the sixteenth floor.

"Sixteen flights of stairs. Wonderful," she remarked sarcastically as they began their slow climb. Couldn't it at least have been an escalator, to save them the work? Floor after floor they climbed, Sakura having to pull out her water by the time they reached the twelfth floor and stop to take a drink. Sasuke looked annoyed but begrudgingly agreed; he'd barely broken a sweat from the looks of it. If that wasn't an indicator of the kind of shape he was in, well...

 _Or the kind of stamina he has_ , she thought to herself before quickly wiping the thought away. Now was so not the time for her head to be going there. They continued their trek up the last four floors, Sakura panting by the time they reached it. She wasn't entirely out of shape, but the stairs were a bit ridiculous!

She stood behind the detective as he knocked on the door, announcing his presence. There was the sound of some shuffling before the door cracked open to reveal a short, very bald man who peered through the partly-opened door with just one eye.

"Go away. Whatever it is, I had nothing to do with it," he said firmly. It was clear he wasn't about to let them in. "Let w man live his life in peace, already." More shuffling could be heard behind him, though he didn't even flinch at the noise.

"Open up and let us in. We have a warrant. Or if you'd prefer, I can just arrest you." The man groaned and rolled his eyes, closing the door and sliding the chain. The detective waited a moment, then knocked again. "Open up, or I'll be forced to break down the door." Silence. Total silence. He motioned for Sakura to move away a bit, then took a step back himself, raising his foot to boot down the door as best he could. The sound of clattering metal could be heard as the chain was ripped from the door jamb, the sound of a gun clicking as it was suddenly in the detective's hand.

Sakura knew what she saw when that door opened. There was undoubtedly something very illegal cooking there, and the sight of a figure going down the fire escape could be seen.

"The fire escape!" She said, pointing. "You follow them down—I'll head back down to the ground floor and try to cut them off." At his nod, Sakura took off down the hall at breakneck speed, nearly running into another tenant of the building before reaching the staircase and taking a deep breath. There was a railing... and it was pretty wide and sturdy.

"Okay, Sakura, you've got this." Rather than race down the steps and risk falling, she instead slid carefully and quickly along the railing, leaning inward toward the steps so that she'd fall on those rather than down the center of the stairwell if she did fall. It sped up her journey significantly, meaning she reached the ground floor with time and energy to spare. No doubt she beat the detective and their soon-to-be charge to the bottom. Coming around the side, she reached the fire escape, staying out of sight around the corner. She could see their reflections off the front windshield of one of the cars, using it to track them. She waited. Counted.

As soon as the bald male reached the corner, she stuck her leg out, catching him by the ankles. He landed face-first on the grass, attempting to scramble back up and away... but not before the detective was on him with a set of cuffs, locking his wrists behind his back before hoisting him up.

"And you're under arrest for intent to distribute again," he began, reading him his rights as they made their way back to the car, settling their charge in. Just as they were about to get into the vehicle, he gave Sakura an approving nod. "Nicely done." Internally she squealed with excitement, glad he was finally recognizing her talent. Maybe that would stop him from being such a jerk to her all the time.

Probably not, but... who knows? Either way, they'd managed to bring in at least one of them for questioning. They just had to hope the other could be found. Sasuke was quick to radio in their find, sending uniformed officers and crime techs to the scene while they would take their suspect back to the station for questioning. On top of it came a second: a BOLO for the other roommate, Zaku, who appeared to be conveniently missing.


	8. Orphan

He loved and hated these kinds of cases. He loved the rewarding feeling when they were over; the knowledge that whoever was taking innocent lives could never do so again. That, and the puzzle. Trying to figure out puzzles from clues was his thing; it always had been. He might not have been boom-smart, but he was incredibly intelligent and observational. It was exactly the reason he'd chosen law enforcement.

He stood in the observation room beside the interrogation room, leaning casually against the wall and sipping his coffee. He was doing what he always did: letting his subject stew for a bit. Much to his surprise, the guy hadn't called his lawyer yet... not that Sasuke had wanted to deal with that snake. Dosu was willing to cooperate, and that was what mattered.

For now... Sasuke had another puzzle to figure out. That annoyingly perky and energetic doctor who was now his assigned partner. She wasn't even a cop; why would they suddenly assign her to him? No license to carry a gun, even. Or, if she had one, she didn't carry it on her. He'd notice the compensation if she had.

She was... odd. The way she floundered when it came out that he'd been the wrong number she texted. He hasn't been lying when he replied initially; it was a good outfit, and it looked good on her, too. He certainly hadn't been expecting it to be her. Part of him wished it hadn't. It was an image he couldn't unsee now that he'd met her face-to-face, and the reaction it caused was deeply annoying.

Satisfied he'd let his charge stew long enough, the detective chugged the rest of his coffee and tossed the cup, exiting the observation room with a flourish before entering with the same. Now was the time to play the alpha; otherwise, Dosu wouldn't crack. Not for a moment.

"So, care to explain this?" He said bluntly, laying out a few of the photos they'd taken of his apartment. Dosu was quiet; he'd learned something the last time he ended up in the slammer.

"No? Okay. Let's try this one." He laid out a few of the crime scene photos of Dosu's roommate, which quickly elicited a reaction.

"I have no idea what that is," he said as he pointed to the body, looking almost ill. He even pushed it away, like he couldn't bear to look at it.

"That right there is your roommate," Sasuke replied bluntly, shoving the paper back in front of him. "Who we found dead in the river. What, was she a client that didn't pay up, so you chose to maim and murder her?" His words were firm and cold, with underlying calm aggression that made him dangerous.

"No, no—she was never a client of mine."

"So you were a client of hers, then," Sasuke stated as he leaned back in his chair, observing.

"No! Kin and I—we were never like that. She was Zaku's, through and through."

"Zaku's girlfriend?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. They mostly wanted to keep it under wraps, but they really couldn't in the apartment. Not from me, anyway." He almost looked proud.

"Yeah, the apartment we have you making product in for your clients. Well, whether you killed her or no doesn't matter. You're still going in with the intent to distribute. Again." Grabbing the photos and slipping them into the file, he stood up to leave before Dosu stammered something.

"Wait, wait, wait. Look—I know this won't get me off what was happening there, but there was this one guy we'd seen hanging around. Good lookin' thing, always flirting with Kin when Zaku wasn't around. Told her she had nice eyes. I don't think he's a tenant of our building, though."

The detective paused. "Got a name? What he looked like? Anything useful that isn't going to sound like you trying to get off clean?" The sarcasm in his tone was biting.

"Dark-coloured hair, kinda slicked back, brown eyes, kind of cocky the way he carries himself. Very alpha-male. Had a tattoo of a red cloud on his left index finger. Don't know his name, but he's the only person I recall being out of the ordinary, all right?" Dosu was done saying anything more.

"Sure. Still not going to change your outcome." He swept out of the room, signalling the officer in the hall to round up his charge so he could move on.

* * *

The interrogation appeared to have led to almost nothing. No matter what the detective tried, Dosu knew nothing about Kin's disappearance—or her murder. Halfway through when it became evident that he wouldn't have anything useful for them Sakura returned to the bones she had, going over every piece again. Checking, double-checking, swabbing and re-examining, even pestering Tenten for ballistics and particulate examination and Shino for entomological evidence. Something had to be here. Something that could help them.

She was brought out of her work as the detective, looking grumpy as ever, made his way down. He was quick to make himself at home, taking over her coffee maker and brewing a fresh pot. Snapping her gloves off, Sakura tentatively made her way toward him, eyes narrowed. "Everything okay?" She asked, a worried flicker crossing her gaze.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, sitting down. "No luck even after. I think he's misdirecting, trying to draw our attention elsewhere. Until they bring in the other roommate, we have nothing." He was frustrated with that fact, even aggressively pouring the coffee.

"Hey, hey, ca-" The detective's swear cut her off, shaking his hand angrily as the coffee splashed over an exposed part of his wrist. Sakura was quick to rush over, grabbing a cloth and running it under cool water and pressing it over the burn, slipping his glove off in case any had got underneath.

"It brews hot, so if you're not careful, it'll burn," she said softly, earning a grunt from the Uchiha. He seemed annoyed but was begrudgingly allowing her to take care of the burn. She was a doctor, after all. She couldn't help but look at his hands in the process; they were scarred, but they were from years ago based on their appearance. It was intermittent as if the original damage had liked been a mix of second and third-degree burns. Gently running her thumb over the scars, her expression was soft for a moment.

"These must have hurt," she remarked quietly. He was silent, wordless; he wasn't even looking at her. It was clear from the stiffness of his posture and the silence that he wasn't wanting to talk about it. Gently Sakura lifted the cloth, examining.

"It shouldn't burn too badly. Just a surface contact burn. It'll be red and angry for a few days, but it should be fine. Here," she said, reaching above the sink to a first aid kit with one hand. She expertly pulled out gauze and tape, lightly wrapping it after putting some burn cream over it. "It should be loose enough that once your glove is dry, you can wear both. Just cover it with a large bandage when you get home, or if you need I can change the light gauze on it." She gave him a bright smile, and he slowly took his hand back, sitting down and avoiding eye contact.

"Good thing I'm a doctor, huh?" Her attempts at conversation were met with a disconcerted grunt from him, leaving her awkwardly chewing her lip. The next best thing? Food. She slowly grabbed the plate of rice balls, quietly setting it on the table. "Help yourself. I'm just, um... going to go back to the bones. Yeah." Stiffly she made her way back to the table, distracting herself with logging the tiniest details she could identify.

* * *

The scars. She noticed the scars. He should have expected as much; if nothing else, she would have been interested from a purely medical standpoint. He hated being without his gloves. People tended to stare at his hands, ask him what happened; people would assume he'd been some hero who saved a little girl, or a cat or dog, from a house fire. Something like that, anyway. It was an injury expected to be in the line of duty, and he hated that assumption. It wasn't. Scars didn't make him any kind of hero.

No... those scars represented the quiet, tormented man he was inside. They represented fear, suffering... months in a hospital bed he spent in agony as they cleaned and debrided the burns. Days where he'd scream until he passed out from the pain.

Days he preferred not to remember.

And yet, it was odd. Anyone else and he would have yanked his hand away without a second thought and stormed out of the room to cut the conversation as quickly as possible. Why not with her? What was it about the way she so gently handled him that made him stop? That made him unbothered by her touch? Perhaps it was the familiar antiseptic smell; he'd never shied away from the doctors, knowing they were only there to help despite the pain. Or maybe it was that soft, sad look in her eyes. Like she knew, deep down, what pain was like, and what suffering meant.

 _Disgustingly sentimental_ , he thought dryly to himself, sitting down and staring at the rice balls. He could smell the scent of the soya sauce, and... was that okaka on top? Talk about stupid coincidences. Whatever god was playing this sick joke on him... oh, how he'd love to show them his fist. Defiantly he nudged the plate away, grunting as he pulled a file up in front of his face. Now he just had to hope his iron will of a stomach would—

**_GRRRRRRRRRRL._ **

Not. Stupid him, not having eaten in the last few hours. He took a deep steadying breath, biting his lip in an attempt to ward off the sensation.

**_GRRRRMMMRRRLLLGRGRGRGL._ **

He inhaled sharply, ticked off that today seemed to be the day. Okay, one rice ball. Just one. That would be all he allowed himself. He took one, idly nibbling on it as he looked through files, even popping open his laptop to scroll through databases and search based on parameters. He was looking at the tenants listed in the building, but no one seemed to fit the description Dosu gave. Granted, it was a fairly generic description, but it was better than nothing. He searched and searched, altering his parameters here and there.

He had to admit—the rice balls were delicious. Home-cooked, he could tell. Good skill for her to have, that was for sure.

Wait. _Balls?_ He glanced at the plate. Half of them were gone. Correction—all of the okaka ones were gone. He stared in annoyance, realizing he'd just idly munched on every single one while he was searching. Damn it—he'd told himself just one. Now he was obligated to—

"Someone was hungry," he heard her chime from the other side of the table. She was smiling again, clearly pleased with her work. Her smile was so... bright.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm going home for the night. Don't stay too late." No way was he finishing that conversation. He was quick to pack up his things, shoving them into a laptop bag before sweeping out.

Her existence was beginning to irritate him, greatly.


	9. Suspects

"I swear I'm never going to figure him out," Sakura griped as she was examining the bones over again. She'd keyed into a phone call with Ino while she was working, needing to blow off some steam talking to her best friend. Ino was the only one who ever understood.

"Yeah? In what way, forehead? It's been two days. Is he at least being nicer?" The way the blonde said that Sakura was almost certain something had happened.

"Yeah. What did you do to him? Or say to him?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. Not a word." That sounded unbelievable.

"Bullshit you didn't," Sakura accused. "I know you, Ino!"

"Seriously! Not a word. Scout's honour. I just asked him about the case, figured out what warrants he needed and what ones we could get, met with the judge, and all was well. Not a word more than that." No matter her honest tone, Sakura didn't believe her friend one bit. If not words, then she had to have given the detective a look that scared him into being nice. Ino was nothing if not savage when given the opportunity.

"I don't believe you for a second. If you didn't tell him anything, you certainly gave him the stink eye. You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me." Ino just responded with a laugh, always amused by the reaction to her usual shenanigans.

"Okay then, forehead. So, you're the one who called me. What was the glorious thing that happened today, hmm?" Of course, Ino figured that was the case. Why else would Sakura call? Chatting about boys was sort of their thing. If they saw a cute one, then they'd have to spend their time gossiping about it.

"Okay, so I did a little research of my own last night. I found an article about a house fire, where an unnamed kid was the only survivor. Well, not only. Supposedly, the older brother wasn't home, and he went missing after that. It's suspected he started it. The youngest son survived, while both of their parents didn't make it."

"So you're saying..."

"That it's likely him? Yeah. The dates line up. His brother supposedly set their house on fire, he survived, their parents didn't. His brother went missing after that, and... well, he burned himself on some coffee earlier, so I had to take off his glove, and... his hands are covered in scars. You can tell there were some small grafts to repair them, but even where the burns were minor you can see the damage. I mentioned them like a curious physician, and he just... stayed quiet. He wouldn't say anything. I could tell it made him uncomfortable. God, I'm such a jerk."

"Sakura, no you're not. You're the furthest thing from that. You saw something that undoubtedly caused him pain and you empathized, like you always do." Leave it to Ino to point that out. "You asked because you have a big heart, not because you made him uncomfortable."

Sakura sighed. "I know. I just feel bad. Whatever it is, it must be hard on him. Maybe I should call him and apologize." She set the bone down she was looking at in the storage tray. "I'm getting nowhere with these bones. I think I'm just going to head home." She finished packing up, putting all her tools away quickly as she was speaking.

"Okay, forehead. Take care! And don't be too hard on yourself." The line clicked, and Sakura was left to finish cleaning and filling out her paperwork for the day.

—

Once in the comfort of his own home, Sasuke finally felt the comfort to slip off his gloves, changing into more comfortable clothing. His home was the one place he didn't have to field the stares and questions, unlike at work. There it was long sleeves and gloves for as long as he could manage it. Once in a while, he would remove them only in his office, as most deigned not to disturb him.

Tonight he was... processing. Most people stared. She hadn't. Not exactly, anyway. It wasn't the kind of stare that looked for questions or wanted to know why. He wanted to say she looked like she pitied him, but... even that wasn't accurate. It was like she cared that he'd suffered.

He let out a long sigh. She was so _irritating_. It irritated him how whenever she spoke, he couldn't seem to tune out; like he subconsciously just wanted to listen to the sound of her voice, even if what she was saying wasn't relevant to their case. He hated that whenever she smiled, he felt this awkward flutter in his chest. And he hated that her mere presence made him let his guard down without even thinking. What was it about this damned woman that could do that so _easily_?

He'd never had to deal with this. Not in a long time. It made him annoyed, and it made him paranoid. He always had to be on his guard. Yet... she seemed like a genuine person. He could tell she wasn't bad in any way. She was intelligent and passionate. Confident in her intellect. He admired that, hard as it was for him to express such. And it was admittedly a bit adorable the way she got flustered when she was embarrassed.

His phone rang, and he glanced at it. Speak of the devil—she was calling him. Frowning, he picked up the line. "Detective Uchiha," he greeted politely.

"Oh, um, hey, you got a minute?" She asked, almost sounding urgent.

"Yeah. What is it?" About the case, he hoped.

"So I was cleaning up for the day and re-checked the x-rays before I was leaving. There were small nicks on the ribs that I thought might have been from animal and fish activity, but once I looked closer I realized it wasn't. They were knife marks, small ones, and they were perimortem. From the location, it appears the assailant used a knife to cut into his victims. Each strike was slow and careful, and they were all non-lethal areas." Now that was interesting. That kind of damage meant...

"So they were intended as a torture mechanism. Slow wounds so they wouldn't bleed out, but painful ones," he surmised.

"Most likely. It also means whoever we are dealing with knows anatomy. You can't make those kinds of wounds with that level of precision without it. He was either a doctor of some kind, or perhaps a pathologist, or at the very least probably studied in the medical field." So none of his suspects so far. Well, there was that one that Dosu had mentioned, but he'd yet to find anything on that lead.

"So none of the suspects we have. Wonderful," he replied sarcastically. "Good work, though. At least it keeps us from going in the wrong direction."

"No problem. Um, one last thing. I'm sorry for earlier, if... if asking about those scars bothered you. I'm a doctor, so it's... just in my nature." He could tell by her voice that she sounded guilty.

"It's fine. I'm used to it." _Used to staring, not caring_ , he thought dryly to himself as he debated his next answer. But there was... silence on the line. The kind of silence that made him suspicious.

"Dr. Haruno? Is something the matter?" He asked, a tinge of worry in his tone.

"Yeah, yeah, just... this weird feeling. I, um... I can't explain it. It's probably just my imagination." Weird feelings were not to be brushed off. That much he knew. They weren't weird, they were borne of human instinct.

"No, it may not be. Just stay on the phone, get to your car, and don't hang up. Where are you? The parkade?" He spoke calmly like he was unbothered, but internally he was filled with worry.

"Yeah. I'm just getting into my ca—oh! Hah... my imagination as always. Looks like just another of the detectives leaving. Looks like... Detective Uzumaki, I think?" Oh, great. It probably wasn't Uzumaki who had her hackles up, that much he knew. His mouth was like a non-stop air horn, the way he talked.

"Ah. I see. Well... give me a call if you need anything, then." He was relieved. Uzumaki might have been annoying, but at least he was a gentleman and would look out for things. Bidding her farewell, he quickly opened his text messages and fired off a quick message to Uzumaki, asking him to keep an eye on her and follow her home if needed. Sasuke was the type of detective who followed his gut, and right now, his gut wasn't telling him great things.

—

How odd. It was like he'd seemed concerned about something, but he wasn't saying what. Shrugging it off, Sakura stood by her car as she dug for her keys, swearing mildly under her breath. Had they fallen through that stupid hole in the lining of her purse again? She seriously needed to get a new one. This was ridiculous!

Heaving a sigh, she turned to set it on the hood so she could dig more effectively, and was nearly startled by a man she didn't recognize standing there. He was taller, with ash blonde hair that was almost silver; obviously dyed, from what she could tell. His eyes were a unique brown colour, almost rusty, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, and he carried himself with a very alpha demeanour.

"Hey there," he greeted, his tone suave. "Problems?"

"Nope. Just fine," she replied as she took a step back. She didn't recognize him, and she wasn't sure he even belonged here. The parkade was shared for staff and witnesses, so perhaps he was here as the latter.

"You look a little distressed to me."

"She's fine," a boisterous but firm voice said behind her. She'd recognize that tone anywhere; it was Detective Uzumaki. "Leave her be."

The man raised his hands defensively, a cocky smile on his face as he backed away. "Sorry, sorry... didn't know she was your girl." Sakura wanted to correct him, but she didn't dare open her mouth. She'd just let Uzumaki roll with it. "But if you ever want somethin' better sweetheart, you come to find me." He clicked his tongue, then shoved his hands in his pockets, sauntering toward a vehicle further down the lane. Sakura stood still as his vehicle left, only releasing her breath when it was out of sight.

"Thanks," she said with relief. "Sorry we had to meet like this... I'm Dr. Haruno,"

"Oh, the new coroner? Medical examiner?" He didn't know.

"Uh, forensic pathologist and anthropologist, but close enough. Corpses and bones either way." She shrugged. "Who was that guy, anyway?" She asked curiously.

"Ahah, I actually don't know," he replied with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head. "Think he might've been in for something gang-related, though. Not every day you see a guy with a tattooed finger. Pretty identifiable if you ask me." He then stopped, looking mortified. "Aaah! I'm so rude! Detective Extraordinaire Naruto Uzumaki. Or Detective Uzumaki for short. Give it a few years and I'll be captain," he said with conviction, puffing his chest out. "Better believe it."

Sakura laughed. "Don't let that ego go to your head too much." She reached into her jacket picked, feeling... her keys. Oh, lord, she was such a scatterbrain. "Oh, for crying out loud, here they are. Well, I need to get going. I have some things to review before I get some rest and go hard at my caseload tomorrow."

"Hey, no worries. Just in case though, I'll follow you home, if that's okay. Just to be on the safe side." He didn't look like the type to take no for an answer. That, and he was kind. He had a warm, sunny disposition, the kind that could make anyone feel comfortable and at ease. It was a welcome change from the frigid nature of her usual partner.

"Sure, that's fine. It's not far anyway. I'll probably feel better with an escort, to be honest." She sighed. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. Protect and serve!" He chuckled, making his way to his vehicle as he waited for her to pull out in hers. He was careful to stay behind her, even waiting parked out front until she was well inside and had locked the door.


	10. Emotions

Days had passed since she'd met Detective Uzumaki in the parking lot. Her encounter with the strange man had been mostly forgotten; she'd gone home, gone about her day, and gone about her work during the said day. No new evidence was surfacing on the murder of Kin Tsuchi, and before long she and Detective Uchiha were being assigned new cases to work on until new information came to light.

Today was one of those new cases. A mugging and shooting, happening in an upscale neighbourhood. Notably out of the ordinary, really. The mugging had occurred near the home of Konoha Hospital's Chief of Surgery, Dr. Tsunade Senju. Sakura remembered the woman well; she'd been one of the professors for a few of her medical classes, and she'd done well; Dr. Senju had also been on the committee for her thesis defence.

"ID in the left pocket identifies him as former mayor Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hadn't he just retired last week?" She asked curiously as she examined the wounds; Detective Uchiha was standing beside her, scribbling down notes as she spoke.

"Yeah. Retired to make way for a new mayor. Dr. Senju is one of the contenders for his spot, along with a few others. Suspicious that she was the one who found the body if you ask me."

"Nonsense," Sakura defended. "I know that it's always evidence, evidence, evidence until otherwise, but I was one of Dr. Senju's students. She was a ruthless teacher, her grading was the hardest I've ever faced, and she grilled me hard during my thesis defence... but she's also kind, and willing to help her students when they need it. She's a surgeon. She saves lives." She couldn't imagine Dr. Senju doing such a thing.

"And surgeons are notoriously egotistical," he muttered. "Some of them act like they're gods because they can mean life or death for whoever ends up on their table. They're arrogant." He wasn't a fan of them.

"You know that as a pathologist I hold a medical doctorate as they do, right? I have to have the same knowledge of anatomy they do, have to be able to identify problems or injuries on a body... I just don't have to race the clock to fix them." All he did was reply with a grunt, scuffing his foot on the ground. Whatever was bothering him today had managed to turn his mood foul for some reason.

"Seems like there's significant damage to the head, likely blunt force trauma, and stab wounds to the left side of the chest. I'll know for sure during my full examination, but one of those is likely our cause of death. Based on the damage to the hands, he fought back against whoever was his attacker. I recall he was a martial arts expert, so it's plausible that he may have inflicted extensive damage to his assailant." She was certainly awed by it; a man of his age as strong and able to defend himself was often unheard of. Nevertheless, it hadn't been enough, which was a saddening fact.

"So we're looking for someone who's taken quite a beating." Sakura looked up at him and nodded. "I'll send a BOLO out to the local emergency room and see what they can bring us. It's a long shot, but if they come in, we might be able to catch them," Sasuke said hopefully.

"Yeah. That's all we can hope for." She stood up and snapped off her gloves, tossing them into one of the portable biohazard bins. "Not much more I can do here until he's transported back. Lunch?" She asked, giving him a friendly smile. He stared at her, then glanced at the body, then back at her.

"Lunch... after this?" He asked almost incredulously.

"Yeah. I deal with this stuff every day. You think I would have been able to survive if I couldn't turn around and eat lunch right after?" He seemed distressed by that fact, but said nothing, offering a grunt as they made their way back to his car. She wondered if he'd want to go anywhere particular.

"So... is that a yes on lunch, or..?" She asked, just wanting to confirm.

"Yeah. We should eat before we get into anything too deeply." Oddly amicable for him, but she wasn't going to complain. Food was food, and they both knew they worked best on a full stomach rather than an empty one. Now that she thought about it... he seemed to like working in her presence, from what she could tell. Most of the time he seemed to avoid his own office if she was doing examinations for a case they were working on; he would spend his time at the small table near her break area kitchenette, a laptop plugged in nearby and case files neatly laid out. If there were details that needed to be looked up, he was quick to research them for her. He was more than just a partner; he was partly an assistant when she needed to look up certain details.

She had yet to mention this to Ino, but she had a feeling that if she did, Ino would likely say that it was because he enjoyed her company. Sakura questioned that stance. He was just efficient as far as she was concerned.

"If you have a particular place in mind, you can just head there. I'm not a picky eater," she said as she slipped her bag back over her head.

"Sure. There's a small place near the precinct. We'll go there." He expertly pulled out his keys, unlocking the doors and getting in. It was a short drive to the restaurant, quiet as always; he was focused on the road, she was making notes in the file about what she'd found upon initial examination. She was half distracted, her mind going back to the Tsuchi case; she just wished they had more evidence to go off of. The potential suspect Dosu had given them was nowhere to be found, and then there was the strange man she'd spoken to in the parking lot that night. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that had Detective Uzumaki not been near, that encounter might not have gone as smoothly as it did. There was something off about the man she'd spoken to. It was a feeling she didn't like very much.

Once they reached the restaurant Sakura was quite impressed with the menu; she ordered some perogies with sausage and a side of summa borscht. She was quite hungry; they'd got the call rather early in the morning, which hadn't left her a lot of time to grab anything for breakfast. She'd managed to scarf down a yogurt before leaving; with crime scenes like this, carpooling was often preferable. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest; in fact, Sakura had the feeling he quite enjoyed driving.

"So, we haven't found anything more on the Tsuchi case?" She asked curiously, taking a bite of her sausage.

"No. Until we can get Zaku in custody, we're stuck. Dosu's in jail, so he can't be aiding him, and the suspect description he gave us hasn't led anywhere." Just by his tone, Sakura could tell he was frustrated. She reached her hand over, gently touching the back of his gloved hand.

"Hey. Don't get too frustrated. We're doing all we can. We'll solve the case, okay? They couldn't have two better minds working on it." He'd glanced down at her hand over his, then briefly met her gaze before turning away with a grunt, taking his hand back to take a sip of his coffee. As usual, he only gave her that wordless grunt when he knew she was right. More often than she'd liked, if she was being honest. Their meal continued in silence until a ring to the detective's phone caught both of their attention. He was quick to answer, and from the sounds of things, it was good news. She gave him a curious look as the call ended, and while his expression didn't appear to change, she could see the faintest glimmer of satisfaction in his gaze.

"Law enforcement just picked up Zaku Abumi trying to get back into the old apartment. They had it under surveillance, and they're bringing him down now for questioning. He'll be ready to go as soon as we get back." He was pleased with that fact.

"Do you want me to come along for the interrogation?" She asked.

"No. You'll have Sarutobi's remains to go over. I'll come down with the details once that's done, and we can decide which leads we should follow. If you're finished before I'm done questioning though, feel free to watch from the observation room." He went back to his food, finishing up the last of it and waving down the waitress for their bills. She was about to pull out her card to pay for her own when he swiftly paid for both orders, leaving her momentarily stunned. That was... new. He'd never done that. Perhaps the change in their first case had lifted his mood more than she could tell. Shrugging, she put her card away and scrambled to follow him out, silently wishing he was more vocal about these sorts of things. It made him so hard to read sometimes!

―――――――――――――――

He'd left Zaku Abumi in the interrogation room for nearly an hour as he waited, watching from the observation room. He wanted to give the man some time to stew; after all, no matter what he was going to end up in jail. If nothing else, he was an accomplice to whatever Dosu had been planning with their little operation. Satisfied that he'd left him alone long enough, the detective swept into the room with a flourish, dropping a file on the table as he sat down in the chair.

"So, Zaku. Sounds like you've got a lot of explaining to do," he started, opening up the file as he first brought out the setup that had been in the apartment before it was cleared out. Zaku groaned, shaking his head; he seemed to know all too well what he was in for. He planned a different approach this time, given he was sure that Zaku had been staying under the radar. They hadn't released any details about Kin Tsuchi's death just yet; the only person who knew so far was Dosu, and he wasn't going to have had any contact with his old roommate.

"Look, all of that stuff is Dosu's. I have nothing to do with it. The most I do is occasionally shake up some of his buyers if they don't pay up or if they owe him money. That's all." It was clear he knew he wasn't going to get out of this easily. That was good; it made things easier for him.

"Oh, well if that's the case, then perhaps you're able to explain this." He laid out the photos of the crime scene with Kin out. Zaku was more composed than his roommate had been, but he still refused to look at the photos.

"Not my fault if one of Dosu's clients ended up dead in the river. That's all on them."

"That's not one of his clients, Zaku. That's your roommate, Kin, who last I checked was your girlfriend according to Dosu. What'd you do, get mad, smack her around because she wouldn't listen? Maybe you were... using her to bring in extra money for your little operation? Clients? Maybe she wasn't doing well enough so you had to get rid of her?"

"What? What in the world are you talking about? No. Kin was my girl, and that was that. I never once hit her. Never. She wasn't around to bring in clients. She... When she got out of jail, after being arrested, she wanted to get clean. Dosu wanted to get his supply chain going again, I told him that he needed to wait, that Kin and I had to leave before he started it. I told him I was heading out of town to check out a few places the next town over. Said that Kin and I would be out by the end of the week. I heard there was a warrant out, and... I panicked. I didn't know what was going on, so I just laid low. I thought things had settled down, so I figured I'd find Kin and we'd get out before Dosu got us wrapped up in his little schemes." He glanced at the photo, a sad look crossing his features.

"I... damn it. I should have just taken her with me when I went to look," he said softly, shaking his head. He seemed conflicted and unsure how to react; Sasuke wasn't surprised.

"Was there anyone Kin was talking to recently, or interacted with, that seemed suspicious?" The detective asked, doing the courtesy of putting away the photos.

"Not really... Well, there was this one guy. He'd just moved into the building a couple of apartments down, and was introducing himself to us. He was kind of aggressive, pushy, seemed to like what he was seeing when he looked at Kin. Told her she had nice eyes. I remember he was taller, had dark hair slicked back, brown eyes, and a cloud tattoo on the knuckle of his index finger. Would've punched the guy in the face for the way he was acting if he hadn't backed off quickly." Zaku wasn't impressed with the guy. The fact that Zaku had described the same guy that Dosu had tipped the detective off, though.

"Well, right now, you're stuck here, because as far as I'm concerned, this mystery man doesn't exist, and you and Dosu were in on it together, and are trying to cover for one another. That makes one or both of you responsible, and or one of you into an accomplice. Works for me." He stood up and flipped the file shut, standing up and walking out despite the protests of the man behind him.


	11. Heart

Sakura was working on the remains the moment they got in, making notes as she went along with her examination. There wasn't much more than what she had found initially at the scene; she was able to catalogue more specific details about the injuries, but nothing more than that. A couple of injuries she swabbed for particulates, setting them aside to send up to forensics for processing. Beyond that, there was little more she could do; most of the remodelled injuries to the skeleton were consistent with the victim's medical records. The only thing that would be able to identify the assailant would be to determine exactly how the defensive injuries occurred and what damage they would have caused to the assailant.

She was just entering the data into her computer as she heard footsteps outside her office, seeing the detective there. He looked frustrated as if he hadn't got anywhere with his interrogation.

"How'd it go?" She asked curiously.

"Same story as Dosu, which means that what they were talking about checks out. Unless they planned this a hell of a long time in advance, they're telling the truth. Right now we have only circumstantial evidence to hold them. We have no murder weapon, no DNA, fingerprints, nothing identifiable." She could tell he was deeply frustrated by these facts. Without those pieces of evidence, their case wasn't as solid as it needed it to be. If they were responsible, it meant that the two of them would walk for the murder; the only saving grace was that they could be tied to drugs with an intent to distribute with airtight evidence. Given one of them was a repeat offender, he wouldn't be coming out any time soon.

Getting up from her desk chair, she sat down on the couch beside him, resting a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know you want to solve this. I do, too. I'm sorry there isn't more I can do." She was genuinely apologetic; she felt as if there was more that she could do, more that she could find, more evidence that she could pull that would help them with something. So far, they had no luck. If there was one thing she'd learned about the detective, it was that he seemed to take failures such as this on cases rather hard; despite his callous personality, he was genuinely kind and wanted to help others. He didn't have a cruel bone in his body to speak of from what she could tell.

As she sat there thinking, another idea came to her. One that might very well be able to get them the evidence they would need to solve the case. "Hey-did you see if they would possibly grant exhumation orders for the other victims we matched the injuries to?" She asked, feeling like she was on to something.

"No, I haven't checked that. You think you'll find something?" He asked curiously.

"Well, yeah. We've managed to trace some of the victims back pretty far, and the way serial killers work, their first kills are never as refined as the later ones. If we can identify a few more, examine their remains, I might be able to find something that was missed in the initial examinations. At the level of desiccation that they're likely at, particularly the older ones, you need someone skilled in forensic anthropology to examine the bones. The last person here didn't have that skill. They were just a pathologist. I'm both." A perk to say the least.

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, pondering before he stood up. "Yeah. Good plan. I'll see what we can do. Uzumaki said he might have a few other leads on Sarutobi's case, so I'm going to go touch base with him on that. Once you have the list of bodies you want exhumation orders for, bring them up to my office. I'll get them to the DA, and we'll see if she can procure a judge to grant them." He stared for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile before he reached up and lightly poked her forehead with his index in middle fingers. He then gave her a curt nod before sweeping out of her office, making his way back to the elevator and up to his own office. She sat there for a moment, dumbfounded as her hand reached up to her forehead. It was such an odd gesture; somehow, she felt it was some unique way for him to show affection or appreciation.

Feeling a surge of confidence from her idea despite also feeling flustered, Sakura quickly dove into the files that she had, flipping through x-rays and categorizing names by the likelihood that they'd be related. She went over everything there was for each case; she scanned through every bit of forensic evidence, every particulate found, every logged injury during the autopsy, creating charts and lists more comprehensive than she had before. Once she had a healthy list, she cross-checked and sorted them again, narrowing it down to a handful of possibilities; after all, a judge would only grant so many. She had to be careful and meticulous about which ones they were asking for. If she wasn't absolutely certain and they found nothing, they weren't likely to get any further orders for that particular case.

With the stack ready in her hands for the detective to review, Sakura made her way up toward his office, stopping as she could hear voices from the open door. Normally she wouldn't have bothered, but it was the nature of the conversation that caught her attention.

"So, about that new girl..." That voice was Detective Uzumaki.

"New girl?" Sasuke asked, a bit confused. "You mean Dr. Haruno?"

"Yeah, her! You've been spending a lot of time with her, haven't you?" Naruto asked, clearly trying to goad his friend. A groan could be heard coming from the Uchiha.

"Oh, please. Get those stupid ideas out of your head," Sasuke said with a hint of irritation.

"Stupid ideas? They're not stupid. You spend way more time down there than you need to." As Naruto mentioned that, Sakura thought about it. He was right; it was only just now dawning on her that he did spend a lot of time down there with her. She also noticed that when most people spoke to him, he would continue multitasking; however, when it was her speaking to him, he seemed inclined to give her his full attention.

"We're partners. Are you stupid? Obviously, I'm going to spend time down there. We work on cases together." Sasuke's tone was becoming more and more irritated.

"Aw, c'mon, Uchiha. Don't be so grumpy. She's cute! You should ask her on a date. Maybe that'll quiet all the ladies that stare at you," Naruto said with a teasing tone.

"Shut up. I'm not going to ask her out, stupid. None of this is any of your business. I'm not interested in dating her, let alone anyone." The conviction in his tone was real; he seemed dead-set on saying no. "We wouldn't work out. Not that it's any of your business. Go ask her out yourself, if you're so obsessed with her."

That bit of the conversation was enough for Sakura. She could feel her heart wrench in her chest, feel her stomach twist like something had been torn from her. She hadn't even realized she was beginning to tear up. Any chance she had was dashed immediately with that conversation. She turned and ran back down toward her office, scrambling to put her things away. She shakily opened her phone and keyed in a message to the detective, keeping it simple.

_I'm going home early tonight. Not feeling well._

With that, she was picking up her things and leaving quickly, breezing out into the parkade. She was in her car and out quickly, fighting to keep herself composed as she made her way home. She was out of the car quickly once she reached it, wiping at her face as she reached for the handle.

The door was unlocked? Had she been in that much of a rush in the morning? She slowly opened it, feeling uncertain. Knowing her, she'd likely just forgotten to lock it in the morning. It wasn't a terrible neighbourhood; she had nothing to worry about. She hung up her jacket and her bag and glumly stared ahead, making her way into the living area. As she turned around, a glimmer caught her eye, along with an all too familiar click. The man stepped into the low light, revealing his face. He was tall, with dark brown eyes; his silvery hair was slicked back, and he had a wicked smile on his face. His hand held a revolver pointed directly at her, and he was smirking.

"Ah, such pretty eyes. Unfortunately, I already have a pair of yours in my collection, but... well, perhaps it could be worthwhile to start another one. That being said, you'll make for a good example, if nothing else." He let out a low chuckle. Sakura felt frozen in fear, staring at the gun. It was like everything happened in slow motion. She heard the shot go off, a deafening sound reaching her ears. She felt warmth spread from her chest, then something hit her back.

Oh... no, it wasn't something hitting her back. It was her, hitting the floor. She was staring at the ceiling, feeling a hot sensation coupled with numbness.

Then, he was standing over her, staring down at her, with that wicked smirk plastered over his face.

It was a face she was never going to forget.


	12. A Message

Detective Uzumaki always knew how to push his buttons. Without a doubt, he had to be the most annoying person Sasuke had ever dealt with. Since when was his love life any of Naruto's business?

"We're partners. Are you stupid? Obviously, I'm going to spend time down there." Good lord, was Naruto truly that dense? No... he really wasn't. More accurately, Sasuke was just stubborn and refused to admit he _liked_ spending time with the doctor. "We work on cases together." Frankly though, at the moment he felt more compelled to smack his old friend over the head if he didn't shut up.

"Aw, c'mon, Uchiha. Don't be so grumpy. She's cute! You should ask her on a date. Maybe that'll quiet all the ladies that stare at you." Oh, that teasing tone just made Sasuke glare daggers at him. If only he could wipe that stupid smile off his friend's face.

"Shut up. I'm not going to ask her out, stupid. None of this is any of your business." Truth. Professionally, it wouldn't be right to do so. They were partners, professional partners, and that was that. Asking her out on a date would be unprofessional. And ultimately, his love life was none of Naruto's business. He... wasn't the right person for dating. "I'm not interested in dating her, let alone anyone." Partly truth. It wasn't so much that he had no interest in dating, nor that he didn't have an interest in her... he just wanted something blunt to shut the annoying blonde up.

"We wouldn't work out. Not that it's any of your business. Go ask her out yourself, if you're so interested in her." Sasuke knew why things wouldn't work out. He couldn't find himself attached to anyone in case something were to happen to them. That seemed to be the way things worked best for him; if no one was attached to him, then it wasn't something anyone could take advantage of. He'd already had that happen once in his life before; he wasn't about to let it happen again. If he kept it professional, then she couldn't be used as leverage by _him_ if he showed up.

As he'd finished speaking, he swore he caught a flash of colour just outside his office. Oh, no. Had she been standing there when he'd said that? He could certainly see how that would be taken the wrong way. Giving Naruto a deathly stare, his voice became firm and blunt. "Buzz off. Don't you have a _job_ to do?"

"Oi, oi, okay, okay, sheesh, I'm going," he said with a defensive raise of his hands, slowly backing out of his office. "Just don't be mad if you decide you wanna ask her out and she's already head over heels for me. I gave you the chance you needed." Naruto quickly disappeared, which was good for the blonde; if he hadn't, Sasuke would have likely thrown something at him in the process. Huffing, the Uchiha returned to searching what he needed, given he was certain Sakura would be up soon with the list of prior victims they'd need exhumation orders for.

He was surprised when his phone buzzed with a message, picking it up to see the message she'd sent him. She was going home? Wasn't feeling well? That seemed odd, for her; he'd got the impression she was the kind of person who'd work herself to the bone when it came to cases. That message effectively confirmed his suspicions; she'd indeed been standing outside his office and overheard that conversation. Realizing just how it might have sounded, especially coming from him, he felt a sense of guilt. What he'd said could have easily been taken the wrong way, and a gentle girl like her? It would hurt to hear that sort of thing.

 _Congratulations Sasuke, you're a top-tier jackass,_ he thought dryly to himself as he sighed, standing up from his chair and grabbing his jacket. If he was lucky, he would catch her before she left and perhaps have a chance to explain. He made his way down to the autopsy area in the basement, seeing the lights off; he'd clearly missed her given the way everything was shut down. Frustrating, to say the least. He'd hoped to at least explain somehow what he meant if only to spare her feelings. It had nothing to do with her in particular, after all.

He briskly made his way to his car, turning the engine on and thinking. If he was going to make up for it, he'd best at least come bearing gifts, or something. He stopped at a small convenience store on his way, briefly browsing the aisles; he found a few small things he'd seen her snacking on periodically, all various sweets, and quickly purchased them. With the bag in hand, he made his way back to his car before his phone rang again.

"Hey, Sasuke. You remember that description of your suspect you were looking for?" Naruto said from the other line, his voice immensely serious.

"Yeah. What about him?"

"I ran a few specific searches. Turns out, he'd rented an apartment, paid three months' rent upfront in full, in cash, just down the hall from where Tsuchi was living." Sounded promising, to say the least.

"I pulled up his photo, and--he's the same guy that accosted Dr. Haruno in the parking lot that evening. I've also got a purchase record for a small salon that has his name in it, again paid in cash, the day after Tsuchi would have been killed. He's also got an apartment under his name on Springblossom Avenue, same deal, three months rent paid in cash, in full, as of three weeks ago."

Springblossom Avenue.

 _Sakura_ lived on Springblossom Avenue.

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

Sakura could feel her body going cold. It was a mix of numbness and white-hot pain; her chest hurt, but she couldn't find the energy to even react to it. She could barely focus, but she knew deep down that the longer she remained conscious, the better her odds were. It was funny how her instincts as a physician would aid her in a moment like this.

He stood over her, staring at her with a sick smile, circling her. He found entertainment in her suffering, in the agony she was feeling, in the way she gasped for air. He finished circling, squatting down beside her as he tilted his head curiously at her, reaching a hand to touch a strand of her hair.

"Oh, so pretty. Too bad... Then again, I could always start a second collection." He laughed sadistically. "But first..." His hand raised, and she found he'd plunged two fingers into the wound on her chest, eliciting an agonizing scream from her. It was agony even after he withdrew his hand, reaching up to draw something on the wall beside her. Her vision had gone blurry; she couldn't tell what it was. All she knew was that he was drawing something in her blood. He plunged his hand into her wound again, causing her to shriek further in agony. 

She felt like she was about to pass out before his bloodied hand grabbed her chin. He was nearly in her face, staring right at her with that sick expression on his face. As much as she hated it, and as much as his expression terrified her, it was enough to keep her conscious. The longer she was, the better of she'd be. That was all she had to remember. She felt cold and tired.

"You know... I could always start a second collection," he said as he brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek. "You'd make a fine start to it, as soon as you give in." So he was waiting for her to die before he took anything. She put that thought in the back of her mind, putting it somewhere she'd be able to find it later. 

"Just a little longer... a little bit longer, and you'll be mine."

She felt another sharp pain, this time between her ribs as something sharp pierced her side.

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

"Sakura lives on Springblossom Avenue. I'm going. Send backup ASAP." Without even listening to the protests of his friend as he hung up the phone, Sasuke immediately had his vehicle in gear, lights on as he raced down the street. He heard the sound of a shot from further down the block, and it only propelled him to floor it faster. As he came close, he practically scrambled out the driver door, gun cocked and loaded as he came to the front door. It was open, and he could hear noises.

Throwing the door open with one hand, the sight that he saw both angered him and made him hyper-aware of his surroundings. The description matched; he was tall, with slicked-back hair and brown eyes. His hair was a silvery shade, and in one hand he held a bloodied knife; in the other, he held a gun.

Everything moved quickly. The moment the door opened, the man was up and running, dashing through the house toward the back door. It was open toward a field, which meant that if he went that way, he would undoubtedly escape. 

Sasuke had two choices. He could follow out the back door, with the chance of stopping him and stopping what was going on. Or... he could let the man escape, hope that other law enforcement was able to track him down and focus on the dying doctor.

It was moments like this that he _hated_ having a conscience.

He quickly holstered his gun and was on the ground next to her, avoiding kneeling in the blood. All he had on him was a scarf; he quickly pulled it off and folded it, pressing it tightly against the wound with one hand while the other touched a gloved hand to her face.

"Dr. Haruno? Can you hear me?" He heard her grunt weakly, eyes half-lidded. "Dr. Haruno?" There was a hint of panic in his tone. "Sakura? Sakura, talk to me. Say something. Say something, _please_."


	13. Limbo

Everything happened too fast for Sakura to process. One moment she was face to face with her assailant, the next she heard... the door opening? Was that a gunshot she heard? It had to be. The man was gone in an instant, scrambling away from her. Who was there? Who had come for her?

"Dr. Haruno?" Whose voice was that? "Sakura? Sakura, answer me. Say something, _please,_ " the voice begged. It was a familiar voice, but she was too tired to place it. Whoever it was, they were worried. Her dad, maybe? Ino? No... It wasn't feminine enough to be Ino.

"God damn it, Sakura, answer me!" The voice became more frantic, and the raised tone caused her eyes to open. It was... Detective Uchiha? He'd come to see her? She was deeply confused. Why was he here? Hadn't she told him she was going home? Why would he follow her? Had she forgotten something? Had she asked him to come?

"Sa...suke..?" She croaked out, seeing his face half come into view. Her vision was blurred and black at the edges, and it took her a moment to process where she was. She was at home. She'd been attacked, and she was in pain. She was going in and out... was she dying?

"Black... bag," she said weakly, trying to gesture; the most she could get was a twitch. "Hemostat... gauze." She knew what she was trying to say; she always kept good supplies in her home in case of emergencies. She wasn't a perfect emergency responder, but she was medically trained, and in a pinch, that would be enough.

The detective seemed confused for a moment before looking around, seeing the bag. He reached a foot out, hooking the strap to kick it toward himself before reaching inside. He pulled out a variety of gauzes, using his knee to gently keep the pressure on his scarf as he tried to rip them open. He eventually got frustrated, tearing off his bloodied gloves and tossing them to the side before getting the packages open, removing his scarf to begin packing the wounds. She had one shot to her chest, and a single stab to her side; neither were lethal, but they would be if help didn't arrive soon.

Sakura felt a rush of emotions hit her. The chance that she could die here was very, very real. She felt that fear bubble up, causing tears to well in her eyes and a weak, choked sob to come from her.

"I don't want to die," she said tearfully, looking up at Sasuke with a fear-filled gaze.

"You won't die, I promise," he reassured.

\-----------------------------

Help was quick to arrive as the detective fought to keep Sakura focused and conscious, but by the time paramedics arrived, she wasn't even able to respond with words. All he could get out of her was grunts and groans. As soon as they took over he stepped away, picking up his discarded gloves and looking down at his hands. They were soaked with blood; it had even started to soak his shirt as he kept her close. He paced uncomfortably, looking around and trying to take in the crime scene. He couldn't think. He needed air.

Stepping outside, he was met by Naruto, whose face looked grim. "Which way did he go?" He asked.

"Out the back, into the field. Send them around and they might be able to cut him off. He couldn't have gone far." He was frantic, angry. "I'm coming with you, I just need--"

"No," Naruto said firmly. "Stop. You found her. You're her partner. Go with her. If she's one of his targets, he may go after her a second time. You know this case best. You can work remotely from there and ask her what she saw. I'll take lead in the field for the time being. Just trust me. Okay?" As angry as that made him, Sasuke knew that Naruto was right. He had to look after Sakura. He had this burning feeling in his chest that it was necessary, that if he didn't, something else would happen. He couldn't let that happen.

"Hold on. You said you found him in a search, right?"

"Yeah. He's part of a gang I've been looking into. I'll fill you in when I have more information. They're loading her into the ambulance now. Go, ride with them. Hyuuga rode with me, he'll drop your car off there when we have a moment." He clapped Sasuke on the shoulder to follow as they loaded the doctor into the ambulance, but his mind was a whirl. Naruto was right; he was no good trying to look at a crime scene right now. He was too worried. On some level, he blamed himself; if she hadn't gone home at that time, then this might not have happened. He was rethinking everything, retracing every step, everything. If they'd known it was the same guy that accosted her in the parking lot, that he lived on the same street, he certainly wouldn't have let her go home alone. Not in the slightest. Hell, he probably would have made a point to stay with her just in case.

"Here," one of the paramedics said, handing him a bottle of antiseptic and a towel. He took it quietly, cleaning off his hands as he couldn't bring himself to look at the sight before him. She was pale and sickly looking; the condition she was in was critical. He'd managed to stabilize her, but he couldn't help wondering if she would make it. For some reason, the thought of her not making it tore at his heart. She _had_ to make it.

He reached out a hand and gently grasped hers under the blanket they had her wrapped in. This was exactly the reason he tried not to get too close to others; he didn't want something like this to happen. He didn't want to feel this _feeling_ again. The sickening pit in his stomach filled with worry and agony. He'd lived enough years with it. Not again.

"You know her?" The woman asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, she's, uh... she's--" Someone he cares about. Someone important to him. "A coworker." They didn't need to know the rest. It was bad enough that two strangers could see him in the state he was in right now, along with his friend Naruto. Too many people for one day.

"Hey. She's going to be okay. You got to her quick enough and slowed the bleeding. She's stable for now, and once we get her to the hospital and they get her into surgery, it should be fine." The woman paused. "Without you, she'd be in much worse condition." She laid a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Yeah. Sure." His tone was curt, but he couldn't pull his gaze away from her face. He couldn't get rid of that pit of worry in his stomach. He sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, and once they reached the hospital he was ushered off to a waiting room. That was all he could do for her now. Sit, wait, and try not to go crazy with worry.

\------------------------------

She could hear sounds around her. Various calls of some kind; her eyes were open, but the lights were incredibly bright, and she couldn't understand a word that was being said. Not a single one.

"Ma'am, can you hear me? Can you tell us your name?" She didn't recognize the woman talking to her; they'd never met before in her life as far as Sakura could tell. She must have been one of the paramedics on the scene.

"Sa... kura," she croaked weakly, barely recognizing her own voice. She just felt cold all over, and like she wanted to sleep.

"Okay, Sakura, I'm Shizune. I need you to stay with me, okay? We're going to make sure you're okay. I'm going to leave you with Dr. Senju, and she'll look after you." The woman squeezed her hand gently, though Sakura could barely feel it; her fingers and toes had started to go numb.

"Sakura, I'm Dr. Senju. I'm going to take care of you, okay? I just need you to stay calm and conscious, all right? We'll get you checked out and fixed up." Sakura could tell that Dr. Senju recognized her; after all, it was only a few hours earlier they'd been talking to her about what had happened outside her house.

"Detective... Uchiha... where is he..?" She asked softly.

"He's going to be out in the waiting room. Once you're stable, we'll let him come in and stay with you. Is that okay?" She asked, wanting a confirmation.

"Yeah... I like him, he's... he was there, he... if he wasn't, I..." The thought of what could happen was too much for her, and within seconds, she'd blacked out.

"We need to get her into surgery and stop the bleed. Call ahead and prep an OR stat and get me Dr. Sukui to assist. If we don't get this bleeding controlled we'll lose her." The blonde woman was barking orders like mad, quickly getting the gurney ready to transport her directly up to the OR as nurses hooked her up to machines and IVs.

\-------------------------------

The wait was awful; he wanted to sleep as they were working on her, but he was too tense, too on edge to speak. It took every ounce of his willpower not to spend all of his energy pacing the damn waiting room. He opted to idly play games on his phone as a distraction until a few messages came in; Naruto reporting that they hadn't found the culprit and that they were working the crime scene. After that update, a nurse came out to speak to him, and he was quick to stand from his seat for news.

"She's stable and sleeping at the moment. Does she have any family in the city, or nearby?" He asked curiously.

"No, no family that I know of. I'll get one of the other officers to check her file and see what's there." Damn, he wished he knew. They hadn't known each other long enough for him to know those details.

"I understand she was attacked. I assume you're here to ensure that doesn't happen again?" There were protocols, after all. He wasn't a family member, which meant that it would have to be an exception made if he were to stay.

"Yes, she was. Other officers are covering the scene and following up on things. I'm here to ensure her safety." He bit his lip. "Can I see her? She's... also my work partner. I mean, we work together. A lot."

"I understand. Normally we wouldn't allow it, but this is... extenuating circumstances. I understand. We'll run anyone who wants to visit by you. Is there anyone you know who can be added to the list as a visitor for her?"

"Uh, yeah... Detective Naruto Uzumaki, since he's assisting on the case, and District Attorney Ino Yamanaka. Those are the only two people I know of." He knew Ino and Sakura were good friends, and Detective Uzumaki was going to likely come to visit given he was assisting on the case.

The nurse nodded. "Okay. She's down the hall in room 328. I had one of the other nurses set up a cot in there as well if you need it. We'll have extra security deployed in that wing for tonight as well." Sasuke nodded in response before brushing past the man, making his way to the room. It pained him to see her; she was hooked up to machines and IVs, paler than ever, and her hair seemed listless. He sat down in the chair next to her, feeling exhausted as he ran a hand through his hair.

How could he have let this happen?


	14. Relief

Hours passed, the day climbing well into the next morning before Sakura awoke. At some point throughout the night, one of the nurses had come to remove the tube connected to the ventilator, allowing her to breathe on her own. She was groggy as she woke up, but she was alive... somehow. Using what little strength she had, she turned her head to the side to see none other than Detective Uchiha, seated in the armchair and half-slumped. He was asleep; he'd likely slept there the whole night.

As if he could sense she was awake, he stirred out of his own slumber, groaning and rubbing his eyes. It was then that Sakura noticed he wasn't wearing his usual gloves; he'd likely taken them off for comfort reasons while he was waiting in the hospital.

"You're awake," he said softly, eyes filled with worry. "How are you feeling?"

"Nngh... sore," she croaked out softly. "And tired, and loopy, and confused. I don't... exactly remember what happened." Her head hurt even trying to think about it. The details were all fuzzy, something she was certain had to do with whatever medication they had her on. Her chest ached; every breath she could feel a hint of pain, though it was dulled by her medication. Her other side hurt, too.

"You were attacked at home. You said you were going home early, and..." She could hear the worry in his voice; it was like there was hidden anger in his tone, directed at himself, for allowing this to happen. "Look, I know... I know it's hard, right now. But I need you to think. We need to find this guy, and I'm not leaving you alone until we do." He was firm and determined. Sakura saw the desperation in his face; it was more emotion than he'd ever shown before. With the professionalism of their job stripped away, all she could see was his kindness. His worry. He really did care, deep down. He just seemed to hide it, and she couldn't understand why.

"Right, I was... I was shot," she said with a hint of fear. Sasuke seemed to sense it, moving closer and grasping her hand. She glanced down to see his bare, scarred hand gently touching hers, while his other hand was stroking her hair gently. 

"You're okay. You're safe here, I promise. We'll catch him," he reassured gently.

"No, no, it's not that," she said, shaking her head. "He... I'm a surviving witness, that's... if I can't remember what happened, it could be crucial to the--"

"I know. Don't stress yourself over it. If you remember anything, speak up, but don't push yourself. Give yourself a few days to recover first." His tone was firm and gentle at the same time; he hadn't stopped trying to reassure her. "Just breathe. You need your rest."

"Okay," she said tearfully, feeling a sob start to choke her. All the fear that had been bottled up and held back came rushing forth, leaving tears streaming down her face. She felt his hand gently wipe them away, eventually reaching for a tissue so he could better catch her tears. Crying took so much energy that when she quieted, she'd passed back out again; her body was too exhausted to stay awake much longer.

\------------------------------

He felt relieved when she was asleep. He wasn't used to dealing with anyone in her state, at least not this intimately. It was difficult when he was filled with as much anger as he was. Anger at the situation. Anger at himself. Especially at himself. He couldn't shake the thought that he'd been responsible for this happening. That conversation with Naruto was going over and over in his head. Had she overheard him? Had he hurt her feelings, and was that why she'd gone home at that time? If she'd gone later, would this still have happened? Would things have turned out worse?

He'd let her decide whether she wanted to approach the conversation or not. 

After she'd been out for a few hours, Detective Uzumaki arrived to relieve him briefly, allowing him to go home and change into better clothing. He was still wearing his old clothes, though someone had managed to find him an old t-shirt he could change into rather than his bloodied dress shirt. He was back within twenty minutes, not daring to waste any of it.

Naruto stopped him as he got there, frowning at him. "Get some sleep," he said with a frown. "You look like the walking dead." Did he really look that terrible? 

"I'm fine," he said as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Looking after her is important."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "You seriously think you're any good in the state you're in? Get your ego in check, would ya? You're being stupid." He growled in response to Naruto's comment, annoyed that he was right. He hated it when Naruto was right. It was the most annoying thing he'd ever encountered.

"I'm. Fine." His tone was sharp, indicating his annoyance. He turned around and marched back into the room, staring at the cot. He knew Naruto was right. He needed to rest. He sighed and grabbed the blankets, setting up the cot and curling up underneath the blanket that had been provided to him. He was asleep within minutes.

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Sakura slowly stirred awake, feeling a little better now that she'd slept off the remainder of the anesthetic she'd been under. She turned her head to see Sasuke sleeping on the cot, clearly out cold. His expression was different when asleep; he almost looked peaceful in comparison. It was very different than his usual expression.

Upon glancing at the door she saw Detective Uzumaki come in with a coffee in hand, smiling at her. "Look who's awake," he said softly as he took a seat next to her bed. "Try not to be too loud. He's been up all night driving himself crazy. Probably needs the sleep," he said as he gestured toward the sleeping detective on the cot.

"All night? Really?" She asked with a glance in Sasuke's direction. "Is he... really that worried about me?"

Naruto chuckled softly. "Of course he is. He acts callous, but he's a softie under all that. He's... been through some things, to say the least. I've known him since we were kids. He wasn't the friendliest back then, either. Still isn't, but he puts up with me. Probably because we both wanted to go into law enforcement." He took a sip of his coffee. "Don't tell him I told you, but he's got a soft spot for you. He's just too stubborn to admit it to anyone--even to himself." Well, that made a lot of sense to Sakura; it explained why one moment he seemed to be warming up to her, and the next he seemed callous, cold, and distant.

"He... blames himself, doesn't he?" She asked softly.

"Yeah. That's just his nature, though. If anyone around him gets hurt, he takes the blame on himself for not being able to stop it. Always been like that, from what I recall. He ended up moving away when we were teenagers, moving to another city when he got transferred to a different foster family. Came back after graduation, but he was... different. More withdrawn, I guess, compared to when we were kids." Naruto leaned back in his chair. "Don't be too hard on him. He tries not to be a jerk. Sometimes he just... doesn't quite know what to say, you know?"

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, I know that feeling." She thought about that night. "He was there, that night. I... I don't know why, but he was."

Naruto sighed. "He rushed there the moment we connected the address to your street. Tell me, Sakura, what do you remember? Don't push yourself hard, just tell me what you can."

She took a deep breath, piecing things together slowly. "I went home, and the door was open. I figured I probably forgot to lock it in the morning because we were in a rush. I came in, and there he was. He was... he was the same guy that tried to stop me in the parking lot. I remember he shot me, then he..." She gritted her teeth as she remembered the rest, her hand balling into a fist.

"He reached... into my wound, and... and he drew something on the wall in my blood. He just stood there and stared. He was waiting for me to die. Then Sasuke arrived, and... he ran. I-I don't remember much more than that. After that, everything's just fuzzy and confusing. I don't remember exactly why I went home early, either." That was a lie. She knew exactly why she'd gone home early, and what had upset her. She just didn't want to answer that. Besides, none of it was relevant to the case. It had absolutely nothing to do with what they were working on.

"I was about to come to Sasuke with a list of other victims we wanted exhumation orders on, I know that much. I think... I think maybe he was coming to ask me about those since I ended up taking the files home with me." That would possibly explain why he was in the area in the first place. Why he wouldn't just call her about it she wasn't sure, but that was irrelevant now. 

"Do you still have that list?" Naruto asked.

"Uh... Yeah, it, um, it should be saved on my laptop, if you can find that. It's probably at the house somewhere. Bring me that and I can pull it up for you." She had a feeling a certain detective would protest to her doing any kind of work right now, but she knew how important this was. It was important to her own safety if it meant finding out who was behind all of these murders.

"We did manage to find a name, and we've got various orders out for his arrest. We'll find him. I don't think he'll rest easy until we do." Naruto gestured at the sleeping detective.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that." She shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to scratch at the stitches underneath the gauze on her chest; she knew doing so would tear them, but they were so uncomfortable at the moment. "I should get some more rest. I feel a bit better now, but maybe if I'm sleeping for longer, he'll get more rest." She chuckled. "Worth a shot, right?"

Naruto chuckled back. "Yeah, it is." He glanced outside the room. "Looks like Hyuuga's here. He's going to be standing watch. Get some rest. You're going to need it."


	15. Recuperation

Sakura had been in the hospital a few days now, spending most of her time sleeping or resting. She was beginning to feel stir-crazy; now that she'd had some time to rest she was finally able to visit with her best friend.

"Sakura!" The blonde said with worry, rushing over to give the doctor the gentlest hug she could manage. "Oh my god... I'm so glad you're okay," she said through tears as she wiped her eyes. Sasuke gave the two girls a nod before stepping outside the room and closing the door behind them. He understood girl-to-girl privacy at least.

"Yeah, I'm okay... mostly." She was still in pain and incredible bored, but it was better than dead, that was for sure. "How did the exhumation orders go?"

Ino sighed. "They're still processing, but for now there isn't much that can be done. Finding him is the first priority. There's enough evidence alone right now for an arrest with your attack and the other two witnesses. We have a solid case to arrest him, sweetie. The exhumation orders and all of that evidence can come later when it comes to more properly laying charges." Damn, Ino knew how to put things to rest fast. Leave it to her to shut down the issue with record speed.

"Okay, okay, fine. No work talk. Well... not case talk, anyway." Sakura's expression turned glum, and her hands played with the edge of the blanket. She didn't even know how to begin asking or talking to her friend about all of this.

"Sweetie, what is it?" Ino asked softly. "Come on, you know you can talk to me. Especially when you look like you're about to burst into tears." Was it something the stupid detective said? Was she going to have to go out there and go full lawyer on him, maybe with a textbook or three?

"I know, I just don't know where to start." Sakura sniffled and gingerly wiped a couple of tears from her cheek. "I, um... I-I know I told Detective Uzumaki that I couldn't remember why I went home early that night, but the truth is... I didn't want to tell him. I—it's not... relevant to the case, at all." The more she talked, the more depressed she felt. Somehow with all the fear and turmoil the words she'd heard struck even deeper.

"Okay, so... you were obviously upset by something, that much I can tell. And you said it had nothing to do with the case?"

"No. Well—not directly. I was going to bring up the list for those exhumation orders to Detective Uchiha, and I overheard them talking in his office. Him and Uzumaki, I mean." She took a deep breath. "I don't think either of them knew I was outside, but Uzumaki was trying to get Uchiha to ask me out. He's been... I don't know. There's just something about him that I can't shake. Just this... feeling, in my chest." She knew what it was—she just didn't want to admit it. She couldn't bring herself to accept the reality that she might have feelings for the quiet detective. Besides—he probably had a better selection to choose from if he wanted a girl in his life. A far better selection than her, anyway.

"And? What did he say? Do I need to kick one or both of their asses?" Ino was fired up as always, ready to knock some sense into either of them. She was a terror when she was unleashed. Sakura knew that much.

"No, you don't have to. Please. It'll only make it worse." Sakura sighed again. "He said that... that he wasn't interested in dating me, and that we wouldn't work out. How could he even know that? He... I just don't get him. I-I know that there's a level of professionalism he prefers, a-and I get that, but... he just sounded so harsh, so convinced that... that nothing would ever work between us." Sakura felt heartbroken by that fact. Being shot down before you even had a chance was disheartening. Deeply so.

"Oh, hun, it's okay," Ino replied soothingly, reaching for a tissue to hand to her friend. "Maybe that's not what he meant. He'd be crazy not to want a girl like you, though. You're smart, sweet, kind, and gentle. You're an amazing cook, and you're incredibly pretty. You never know. There may be more to the situation than you think. If you ask me, I think he's got a soft spot for you. He's practically refused to leave your side. He only left you alone with Uzumaki, and from what I understand it was no more than twenty minutes for him to shower and change. He hasn't left. He's determined to make sure you're safe." Ino had her hands on Sakura's shoulders, pulling her into a gentle hug.

"I don't know, Ino. I really don't know." She shook her head. "Just... just don't say anything to either of them, okay? Especially Sasuke. He's... already worried for me. I think maybe he blames himself on some level. Just... leave him alone. Please."

Ino's expression made her disappointment clear, but she relented. "Okay, fine. I won't say anything. But _only_ because you asked. That's the _only_ reason I'm not going to tear him a new one." When Ino made a promise like that, she meant it. Sakura was one of the only people who'd get a promise like that out of her. Perks of them being best friends.

"You need to get some rest, okay? I'll let hotshot here back in the room before he gets too fidgety out there. I can sense he's probably tapping his foot impatiently and wondering what two girls could spend so much damn time talking about," she teased. "Oh! I almost forgot." She pulled a few things out of her bag. "I, uh, went to the liberty of getting you some pyjamas from home. I figured if you're going to be here for a few days, you might as well be comfortable. See if the nurses can help you get into it." She left the folded clothes on the small table in the room, before waving and ducking out of the room, letting the detective back in.

As Sakura glanced up, she saw he had something in his hands. A pitcher of water -- oh, right, she'd run out of water earlier. And... There was something else. He awkwardly came up to the bed, setting the bag on the tray. It was a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels--one of her favourite snacks.

"I, um, thought you might want some, maybe," he said awkwardly, not making eye contact. He'd never been this awkward before around her. She almost felt like she was looking at a shy little boy, the way he was standing; hands stuffed in his pockets, gaze turned away, weight subtly shifting from one leg to the other. Sensing the silence, he sat down in the chair, pulling out his phone and not-so-subtly trying to draw attention away from himself by checking his messages.

"Oh, um... thanks. I appreciate it." She chuckled. "I really like chocolate-covered pretzels." It was then that she realized there was one small problem.

"Um... I can't, um--"

"Oh. Right," he said quickly, scrambling up from the chair and fumbling to open the bag for her, still avoiding eye contact. Sakura stared at him, studying him more. He was more well-rested than the other night, but she hadn't seen him leave... Glancing at the time, she realized he probably hadn't eaten anything, either.

"Go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat," she said softly. "I know you haven't eaten anything yet today. You'll pass out if you don't." She reached for a pretzel and nibbled on it, staring at him seriously.

He glanced at her with a grunt, but upon realizing her stare, he groaned and relented. "Fine," he said curtly, the irritation notable in his tone. "I won't be gone long. Anything happens, security is outside and I know the cafeteria is just down the hall." He gave her a serious look, making eye contact one last time before ducking out of the room. Knowing him, he'd just grab whatever food he wanted and make his way back here, ensuring he wasn't gone long. Fifteen minutes, no more than that.

Fifteen minutes was all it was going to take.

As the detective was gone, Sakura saw things happen all outside her room. One shot rang out, aimed right at the security guard standing nearby. Nurses and doctors shrieked as the man clad in black made his way right to her room. She recognized him. His face wasn't a face she was going to forget, not in a million years. 

"Ah, there you are, my dear," he said sadistically, chuckling as he twirled his gun. "Thought you'd got away from our little meeting. It's a shame, really, that your little friend showed up when he did. I had plans for you, pretty girl, such grand plans... But you survived. A shame. Messages from the dead are much better." He let out a laugh, clicking the back of the gun as he slowly levelled it at her. She was frantic, looking around, trying not to let him out of her sight, but she could feel the fear rising. Not again. Just when she was starting to feel safe, now she was back in this place again.

She had one chance. Throwing every ounce of strength she had, she pitched off the side of the bed just as his finger pulled the trigger, tumbling off the side onto the floor. The landing was agonizing, but she had to. Hearing his laugh, she turned to try and keep an eye on him and found herself staring right at the barrel of his gun. It was all she could see, all she could focus on before another shot rang out. 

He fell to the ground, the gun skidding across the floor and into the corner, away from him. Blood had begun to pool where he'd fallen; she could hear someone sobbing and crying. Who'd be crying over a monster like this guy? It wasn't until she saw Sasuke in her field of vision that she realized who was crying.

 _She_ was crying. She was sobbing uncontrollably and in agonizing pain. She felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her in tightly, gentle words trying to shush and soothe her.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," Sasuke soothed gently, keeping her wrapped tightly in his arms. She was terrified, hardly even able to focus. She felt him pick her up, lifting her gently and keeping her face against his shoulder as he did. Nurses were already in the room, and she could hear him talking. "I've got her," he said, stepping aside so they could switch out the bed she was on and get her settled again. 

It was over. It was all finally over.


	16. Ad Normalis

A/N: Hello readers! Since this has been getting far more traction than I had anticipated, I would like to take the time to dedicate this chapter to my two good friends Synder and Star. These two are two of my closest friends & were with me when this idea originally started as a group written plot we were doing. Synder, you will forever be my favourite Elsa fanboy, and Star, you will always be the Ino to my Sakura. Love you both, you're my two favourite British dorks. <3

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After what felt like forever, she was finally being sent home from the hospital. Things were finally over with her first big case, and she was glad to be out of the same four walls where her friends came just to fret over her. The smell of antiseptic and wasn't something she was going to miss. She might have been used to it at work, but having to live it for an extended period of time outside of work was beginning to drive her crazy.

She's insisted that she could make it home on her own, and had refused to allow anyone to take her there. Not even Ino was allowed to drive her home, and luckily for her, the detective was busy at the office working late. They'd had to call in someone to cover her department, and apparently, whoever was doing it was a lot slower and a lot less on-the-ball than she was. Sakura had a feeling he was going to be happy when she was finally back at work.

The cab dropped her off in front of her house, and she stood there for a few moments, staring at the door. Things had been fixed; she remembered that one of the panes in the front door had been shattered when she was shot. Probably the work of someone at work, or perhaps Ino's doing. Slowly, she made her way up toward the door, checking it; it was locked. She opened it with her key, making her way in. The front area had been cleaned up; she could still smell the bleach from whoever had taken the time to clean everything up. The door closed behind her, and she turned to quickly lock it, turning back and slowly making her way in.

The way she moved, it was like she expected something to jump out at her. How could she expect anything else? The last time she'd been here, she'd been attacked. She'd nearly died. Even though the blood had been cleaned thoroughly and the shattered glass replaced, the incident hadn't changed. It had still happened. It was still a part of her life.

Moving about the place, she knew she couldn't do this. She couldn't stay here. She didn't feel _safe_ here. How could she? After being attacked in her own home, where she lived alone, how was she supposed to feel safe? She wasn't about to ask Ino or anyone else for help with this. She had to be strong. She had to be independent. Making her way down the hall, she packed a few changes of clothes into a small bag, light enough that she could carry it. She took it along with her work bag and the usual paperwork she carried with her, carrying it to the curb. She was still on medication, which meant she wasn't allowed to drive; she cursed that thought, pulling out her phone and calling another cab.

She knew she was going to have to find somewhere else. An apartment, maybe. That would be her best bet. Just a few days staying at the office shouldn't be a problem, right? She had everything she needed there. The kitchenette, coffee maker, a couch she could sleep on, and a shower she could use (technically, it was the decontamination shower, but she was the boss of that department, so... it would be fine). The cab arrived, and she was quickly at the station, hauling her bag and cursing internally as it was almost too heavy for her. She was certain it was tugging at her stitches.

Turning the corner to the elevator, she didn't realize who was standing in it until she bumped right into him. She hated that she knew who it was without even looking; she'd just got too used to his presence. Looking upward, her gaze met the detective's, and she knew by the look on his face that she was in trouble. Lots of trouble.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home. Resting." Oh, his tone was beyond curt. He was... angry? The frown on his face definitely said so. She tried to keep her look serious as she searched for an excuse.

"Oh, I, um, just left some papers that I was going to grab and work on, at home, you know, since I can't really do much else. I-I mean, I-I can do some paperwork I was catching up on, at least, because if I don't, I'll just go crazy, you know? I've been away for way too long already, and if I don't try to catch up, I'll just get more and more behind--"

"You're supposed to be _at home._ At home does not mean at work." He glanced down. "And not with an overnight bag." His frown deepened, scrutinizing her even further. The more he stared, the more sheepish she looked. He'd caught the overnight bag, which meant the longer she stood there, the more likely he was going to figure it out.

"...You were going to sleep in your office, weren't you." Crap. Caught. "In the coldest area in the building, no less. For obvious reasons."

"I have a space heater for the office, thank you!" She blurted out, realizing she wasn't really helping herself any. "It's not that cold-- a-and I wasn't going to sleep there, exactly--"

He let out a deep sigh, before holding a hand out. "Give me your bag." Her bag? What? Why? He moved a little closer, slowly reaching for the handle and taking it from her. She had a feeling that with how stubborn and angry he seemed, he wasn't going to take no for an answer no matter what she said. He probably planned to take her home and order her to stay there, and threaten to sit outside in his car all night if she didn't. That would make perfect sense.

With a glum expression, she followed silently behind him, hanging her head sheepishly the whole time. He led her to his car, opening the passenger door for her before making his way around to the driver's side and starting the car. She sat in the passenger seat with a sulking expression, arms crossed as she wished she hadn't been caught. She just wanted to get a good night's rest, not feeling like she was paranoid and looking over her shoulder every moment. Like she might be attacked again. She couldn't sleep in a place that she didn't feel safe.

She was too busy sulking to notice that they weren't heading in the direction of her home. It was only by the time the car stopped and pulled into a driveway that she noticed that it wasn't where she was expecting. The house was... old, but clearly nice; it had a beautiful stone exterior, with a couple of pine bushes underneath the front window and a large evergreen tree in the front yard. The grass was a bit patchy in the front yard, but that was to be expected; evergreen trees had a tendency to cause acidic soil, which meant grass had difficulty growing.

It was then that she realized that this wasn't her home. It was _his_ home. He was letting her stay with him? That was certainly a surprise. He was a relatively private person; she knew very little about him, and in fact, most of the information she knew was information that she'd managed to dig up on her own about it. He grabbed her bag from the back seat, coming around while she was still mildly shocked and opening her door, offering a hand to help her out. She took it gladly; she was still struggling to move a little with her stitches, and her chest still had a dull, aching pain most of the time. He didn't say anything; he just led her up to the front door, unlocking it and letting her in behind him before closing the door. There was an alarm beeping, which he quickly dealt with and then set to stay, locking the door.

What happened next surprised her, even though it shouldn't have. He first went into the kitchen, checking the gas stove that was in there; then, he made his way to the living room, double-checking the large wood fireplace that was there. After doing that he returned to where he'd left her standing, taking his jacket off and picking up the bag of hers he'd carried in. "You can sleep upstairs. There's a bedroom up there." He turned around and carried her bag up the stairs without another word.

While he was gone, she took the time to look around the place. Most of it was pretty plain; there were no photos or decorations anywhere, and the walls were a plain grey colour. It had some nice furniture that was clearly well taken care of and had the basics, but it was a very masculine-looking place. The kind of place most people would say needed a woman's touch. A little decoration and personality and it could feel warm and homey.

She was... dumbfounded and confused when she thought back to what he'd mentioned. He said a bedroom, and from the look of the place, it couldn't have more than two bedrooms. He came back down with an armful of blankets which he quickly draped over the couch.

"Wait, hold on," she said as she approached him. "I'm fine sleeping on the couch, you don't have to--"

"No. You're the one who needs to rest, not me." He glanced away sheepishly. "You can stay here, until... you feel like you're ready to go back home." He turned and started to set up the couch for himself. She was.. touched by his concern. How could he read her so easily? It was like he could tell she was terrified. That he could tell the reason she wouldn't go home was because she felt unsafe there.

"Oh, um... okay," she said softly, making her way up the stairs. Curiosity got the better of her, and she looked around; there was indeed a second bedroom, but it appeared to have been converted to a study, along with a singular large bathroom as well. So he really was giving up his bedroom in order to allow her to stay. She made her way into the room, taking a careful look around as she did; the same as the main areas, with no decorations, photos, nothing to give it any sort of personality. It felt devoid of... anything, really.

She moved to the bed, sitting down on it as she grabbed one of the pillows and buried her face in it, curling up on the bed in tears.


	17. Affectus Amor

A/N: I am putting another dedication in this chapter as well! I would like to give a shout-out to Anissa, CutieConch, Jakeson12, and BrubsCullen, a handful of readers on FF.NET who have been following this from early on in the story. Your guys' energetic reviews and comments are always motivating and I love seeing your excitement when new chapters come out. I love how engaged you all are!

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Cases never stopped for Sasuke Uchiha. Never. There was always a new one, always cold cases to pull out and search for information on, no matter the day. He was heading home for the day when he turned a corner, finding none other than Sakura... whom he knew was supposed to be at home, resting. Just what was she doing here? The last place she needed to be was at work straining herself.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, annoyed that she was pushing herself. "You're supposed to be at home. Resting." He knew that his irritation was coming across in his tone, but at this point she deserved it. She'd almost died--twice. And now she was coming back to work, pushing herself more than she needed, instead of taking the time to rest. It was _aggravating_ to him how stubborn she was.

"Oh, I, um, just left some papers that I was going to grab and work on, at home, you know, since I can't really do much else. I-I mean, I-I can do some paperwork I was catching up on, at least, because if I don't, I'll just go crazy, you know?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes in the middle of her ramble. Rambling usually meant she was full of crap. He'd learned that one by now. "I've been away for way too long already, and if I don't try to catch up, I'll just get more and more behind--"

"You're supposed to be _at home._ At home does not mean at work." Didn't she know that? He looked down at the bag she was carrying. It was... an overnight bag? It looked pretty packed, from what he could tell. "And not with an overnight bag," he added.

Seeing the sheepish expression that came over her face as he was piecing it together, it finally clicked. He remembered what her office looked like; her work area had pretty much all of the amenities if someone wanted to stay for a day or two, or needed to. A kitchenette, a couch that was comfortable enough to sleep on... Suddenly, it made sense.

"...You were going to sleep in your office, weren't you." Her expression told it all. "In the coldest area in the building, no less. For obvious reasons." He could understand her desperation, seeing the look on her face. While her expression was sheepish, he could see what was behind it: fear. He understood it. She was too scared to sleep in her own home after what happened. He couldn't blame her, not after going through what she had.

"I have a space heater for the office, thank you!" He almost laughed at the way she responded. She was... kind of adorable when she was mad. "It's not that cold-- a-and I wasn't going to sleep there, exactly--"

He let out a deep sigh, before holding a hand out. "Give me your bag." He knew what he had to do to fix this. It was the least he could do to make up for his mistakes. If it meant she got better, that was what mattered to her. He'd screwed up the first time, and left her unprotected when she needed it the second time. He wasn't going to let that happen again. Not in the slightest.

Now he just had to consider the logistics. He only had one bedroom, and no way he was going to make her awkwardly share a bed. His couch wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't going to be the most comfortable week if he had to sleep on it every day. A small sacrifice if it meant _she_ was going to be okay. He knew the neighbourhood and knew the people around; no one would bother her if she were there alone. After all, both of his neighbours were elderly women in their eighties. There was no changing that fact.

Tossing her overnight bag in the back, he opened the passenger door for her, resisting the urge to chuckle as he could see her sulking expression. She was cute when she was like that, though he'd never admit he thought that way. She must have thought he was taking her home. What a surprise she was about to get. Internally, he was questioning himself; he'd never let anyone, not even Naruto, come over to his home. He kept to himself; home was his private place, where he could get away from the chaos of work and just be by himself, where no one would disturb him. 

Pulling into the driveway, he quickly got out and grabbed her bag from the back seat, then opened the door to help her out. The last thing he wanted was for her to push herself more than was necessary; being shot wasn't something to play around with, that much he knew. He'd taken a few during his career, and no matter how much she put on a brave face, he wasn't going to buy for a second that she was better. Not this soon, at least.

Leading her up to the door, he quickly turned the alarm off when they entered, then set it to stay after closing and locking the door behind them. The alarm would be one thing that would at least stop intruders; her place hadn't had one from what he'd noticed. Then came the ritual. Checking the gas stove to make sure it wasn't on and wasn't leaking gas. Checking the fireplace to ensure it was out, and nothing was lit in it. He tried to do it as casually as he could, but it was difficult to hide the obvious paranoia he was feeling. Once that was done, he turned to her to speak.

"You can sleep upstairs. There's a bedroom up there." He'd grabbed her bag as he spoke, preparing to make his way upstairs. He'd at least carry the heavier bag up there for her and get the bed ready to go, as well as grab everything he knew he'd need to get ready the next day so he wouldn't have to disturb her. He took a full set of clothes and set them on one of the empty shelves in the bathroom, double-checked there were enough towels and grabbed some blankets and sheets from a closet in the hallway before making his way down the stairs, draping them over the couch.

"Wait, hold on," she started, causing him to frown. "I'm fine sleeping on the couch, you don't have to--"

"No. You're the one who needs to rest, not me." He didn't quite know what else to say after that, but it was the truth; she needed the rest more than he did. He could function for a few days on the couch if it meant she got the comfortable rest she needed. She'd been through a lot. It was only fair. Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, he continued without making eye contact. "You can stay here, until... you feel like you're ready to go back home." He wasn't sure how long that was going to be, but they could figure that out at a later date. His primary concern was her. Making sure she felt safe. Comfortable. That somebody was looking out for her. That she didn't have to be constantly looking over her shoulder.

"Oh, um... okay," came her quiet response before he saw her heading up the stairs. Good. She'd figured out it was the smarter move not to argue with him. He wasn't going to budge on the situation anyway, no matter what it was he said. He quickly set about getting the couch ready and as comfortable as he could giving her a few minutes to process... and taking a few minutes to process things himself. He sat down on the couch and stared at the fireplace, muttering to himself.

"Just what are you getting yourself into, Sasuke?" He said under his breath, shaking his head and rubbing a hand over his face. It stung to know that the longer this went on, the more Naruto was right. He hated to admit it, but he had a soft spot for the doctor. It felt like she'd just found a chink in his usual armour and managed to wiggle her way in there without him even having a chance to stop it. He didn't mind; after all, she was kind and honest, with a good heart. But he also couldn't help worrying; he knew that in the end, it wasn't going to work out well. If what happened before she got shot was true from his perception... She might start to feel something for him. 

He couldn't let there be anything of that nature. If he did, then she was a liability. Loving her meant putting her in danger. It meant making her a target for the things in his life he wanted to stay far, far away from. Loving her made her important to him--and so far in his life, everything that had ever been important to him had been ripped away. He couldn't risk that happening. It would hurt him too much, and it ran the risk of hurting her in the process. He could smell the irony in what he was doing; here he was, protecting her as best he could, yet failing spectacularly at protecting the one person who served the most danger to her: himself. 

Emotions were such a chore.

Heaving a sigh, he made his way to the kitchen and pulled out a spare water bottle, filling it with some fresh water and ice before making his way up the stairs. He was quiet as a mouse doing so, skipping the steps he knew were creaky so as not to disturb her; if she were already asleep, then he would want to be as quiet as possible setting the water bottle next to her. As he came to the door of the bedroom that had been left slightly ajar, he could hear something.

It tugged at his heartstrings to hear her like this. She was sobbing and crying, likely out of fear; it made his instinct to go to her and soothe her flare obnoxiously. It took everything he had not to do it; so instead, he waited quietly outside the room, waiting until he could hear her quiet down before reaching to gently knock before entering.

"Here. Brought you some water. I have to be back at the office early tomorrow, so you'll be here by yourself, but there's an alarm system. As long as the doors and windows are closed, you'll be safe inside. Don't panic if you hear yelling from next door, it's probably just old lady Chiyo yelling at her husband again. He's deaf, so she has to yell at the top of her lungs for him to hear her. Only works about half the time," he said with a chuckle. Hopefully, a joke would lift her spirits.

"I'm only about five minutes from here to the office, so if you need anything-- _anything--_ just call me. You can make yourself at home, take over the kitchen, whatever you need. There's a study down the hall with a computer connected to the work network, so if you want to upload any paperwork, you can. I know you'll just ignore me if I tell you not to, anyway." At least paperwork was easy, light work that she could do without much motion. He knew what it was like to not have anything to do, and if work kept her from going crazy or being paranoid, then he welcomed it. 

Standing up, he awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets again, glancing away as he was slowly backing out of the room. "Good night." He ducked out of the room and into the living room, quickly changing into a loose t-shirt and pyjama pants before settling down on the couch, staring at the ceiling in thought until he eventually fell asleep.


	18. Repayment

She was sobbing uncontrollably, burying her face in the pillow in an attempt to stifle the sobs. She wasn't even aware that Sasuke was outside the room listening; she just needed a moment or two to process what was happening. His kindness was deeply unexpected and incredibly touching. She couldn't remember a time—ever—that someone had put this much care and consideration forward for her. That, coupled with the fact that it was coming from the person she least expected, made her both touched and worried. She always had to wonder why he was doing this. Why go to all this trouble, just for her?

Sakura did her best to wipe her tears as he came in with the water, trying to hide her face. She wondered how much he'd heard, or anything; if he had, he wasn't drawing attention to it. She listened carefully as he spoke, glad he'd brought water; the things he was telling her were certainly reassuring. He wouldn't be here, which was disappointing, but the house felt safer in some way. The neighbours being elderly was surprisingly reassuring; people had a tendency not to cause trouble around the elderly, perhaps out of respect.

His joke did make her chuckle. She wasn't even aware he had a sense of humour; if he didn't, then he was doing an excellent job trying to have one. Once he was done he stood up, back to that awkward posture he seemed to be using as of late.

"Yeah, good night," she said softly, green eyes watching as he disappeared down the stairs. She heard shuffling down there before the light clicked off, leaving her in darkness. She carefully crawled under the heavy duvet, glad for the weight; it was somehow comforting to her. And his bed... it was very comfortable. Even just having his scent surrounding her was calming and relaxing, just enough so to lull her to sleep.

Sleep... also meant dreams. At first, she dreamt she was in a field, running through with laughter and happiness, but as she reached the edge, she watched the sky turn black, almost angry. Lightning seemed to strike down from it, threatening to reach her. She turned to run, finding the lightning striking the ground around her, causing it to crack and shatter wherever it landed. She struggled to keep her footing. One struck directly in front of her, splitting the ground wide and leaving her overlooking the edge of a chasm, precariously balanced on the edge.

And then, she fell. The chasm turned to darkness, and she was falling, falling, falling...

A face came into focus. A twisted smile and laugh. Sinister, really. Silver hair, brown eyes; pointing a gun at her. She wanted to move, but she couldn't; her body wouldn't let her. She was laden down with chains, unaware of where they'd come from; the shot rang out, and she soon found herself floating above, looking down at herself as the sinister man laughed and slowly added more and more knife wounds on her torso, meticulously placed as she was clearly dying. Then, he happily removed her eyes, one by one, before leaving her there as just a mutilated corpse.

She woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. It took her a moment to remember where she was; it wasn't familiar at first, which left her panicked until logic caught up with her adrenaline. She shakily reached for the glass of water, taking a few sips to calm herself. Her chest ached; she'd fallen asleep without taking her medication, which meant the pain had flared up in her sleep. She took one of the pills and tried to focus on her breathing, on her surroundings, on staying calm.

She couldn't sleep up here. Not now. He'd be mad at her in the morning, but she didn't care. Picking up the duvet and a couple of the pillows she made her way quietly down the stairs toward the living room. He was sound asleep on the couch; he snored faintly, though not loudly. She shuffled over to the floor in front of him and carefully laid out the duvet and pillows, creating a little bed for herself. It would just have to do for tonight. Bad sleep was better than no sleep, in her opinion.

Wrapping herself up, she went to sleep with the soft sounds of him breathing near her. Just the extra familiar presence alone was enough to keep her dreams at bay... or at least, keep them from being haunting nightmares.

——————————————

It was early when he woke, as usual, rousing before his morning alarm even went off. The sun was barely up, just peeking through the windows, but it was enough morning light for him to see what was before him.

Sakura. Asleep on the floor, just below the couch. He figured she must have come at some point through the night, somehow making herself a comfortable little nest on the floor with the duvet and some pillows. "Stubborn little fool," he muttered under his breath, doing his best to carefully and quietly get up. She was sound asleep; he couldn't just let her sleep on the floor like that.

Carefully, gingerly, like he was carrying a small child, he lifted her in the blanket, doing his best to move slowly and keep her head cradled against his shoulder. He moved carefully up the stairs, slowly going step by step at a smooth pace so as not to disturb her. Once they were at the bedroom he carefully laid her down, gently lowering her head onto the pillow and tucking the duvet in around her.

He released a soft sigh as he looked down at her, then against his conscience leaned over and gently kissed her forehead before leaving. He wasn't sure why he did it (or, more accurately, he didn't want to _admit_ why he'd done it) or whether he'd ever do it again, but he did hope it helped. Grabbing the clothes he'd set out for himself the night before, he took a quick shower and got dressed, grabbing a simple breakfast while doing his final-round check of the stove, fireplace, and anything else that was a fire hazard before leaving for the day. It was going to be a long day at the office, though he was sort of hoping he'd get an interruption and would have to go home. Despite knowing that his place was safe and that the alarm was set, he still couldn't help but worry about her.

Upon reaching the office he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text message.

_I programmed a code into the security system for you -- it's 0328. D.A. Yamanaka said she was going to stop by later, but that she'd call you before she did. Call me if you need anything._

There--that was enough. With that out of the way and his phone's ringer turned on high so he wouldn't miss a single notification, he set about to work on the cases he'd been assigned.

——————————————

It was late into the morning by the time Sakura woke, rubbing her eyes and looking around. She'd ended up back in the bed, and was quite nicely tucked in. His doing, she assumed; she must have been pretty out of it if she hadn't noticed him pick her up off the floor and tuck her back into bed. She couldn't help but feel grateful for it. He was a kinder person than she anticipated.

Slowly getting out of bed and taking her meds for the day, she elected to take a nice warm shower; it would give her time to carefully clean and disinfect her stitches, and re-cover them with bandages to keep them protected. Grabbing what little essentials she'd brought, she found his shower was... actually quite nice. The water was plenty warm and didn't even change temperature despite her extended stay in the water; his towels were soft and well taken care of, too. He seemed to be very efficient when it came to essentials and general comforts of life; absolutely a welcome aspect to her current situation.

The shower gave her time to think. If she was going to be staying for a short while, she needed to ensure that she did her part. She took a good hour to look around the house and take inventory of what was there; a few things looked like they could be cleaned, so she picked a few that would be easy to clean and wouldn't stress her injury. With a goal in mind, she went ahead with it and even took the liberty of putting in some of the laundry he had sitting. After a couple of hours, her phone rang with a call from Ino.

"Hey," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Oh, don't you play coy with me, forehead," came the blonde's teasing voice. "You, missy, have a lot of explaining to do. Spill, already." She should have known this was coming, honestly; she knew Ino wouldn't be satisfied unless she got a full explanation now.

"Okay, okay. I went home yesterday, but I just... I couldn't stay there. Every little noise I heard, I panicked. I looked into the front room, and all I could remember was that night and everything that happened. I... I didn't feel safe there," she admitted. "I didn't want to ask you if you had room, because I felt... I don't know, like it'd be too much of a burden."

"Dummy. You know I would have let you stay in a heartbeat, no questions asked," Ino scolded.

"I know, I know. Anyway, I decided I would just sleep in my office for the night and figure everything out in the morning. He caught me on my way down and... well, I thought he was going to take me home, but he took me right to his place. It's like... he just knew. He knew I was too scared to be there." The more she talked about it, the softer her tone became. His kindness was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome.

"His place, huh? Bet you had all kinds of fun," she teased.

"Oh, stop it. There was none of that. I didn't sleep too well anyway. He demanded I sleep in his bed because it was the only bed, and he slept on the couch. I came out halfway through the night and slept on the floor because I couldn't sleep up there alone. At least if I knew he was there, I wouldn't startle at every little noise." Ino was the only one she could admit these feelings to. The fear, the anxiety, all of it. Ino was her soundboard, her confidant.

"Yeah? How'd he take to seeing you on the floor?"

"He, uh... I must have been pretty asleep because I'm pretty sure he carried me back to bed. That's where I woke up. Then again, these painkillers do kind of knock me out pretty good, so..." She thought about that. He'd brought her upstairs, tucked her in, made sure she was covered, had water... he was being overly kind, in her opinion.

"He seemed pretty preoccupied today. I caught him immediately checking his phone any time it went off. He even checked it without it going off like he was making sure he hadn't missed anything. He's been fidgety all day. Sounds to me like he's worried about you."

Sakura paused, pondering that. "I... I think you're right. Anyway, I know you have to get back to work, but could you stop by with a few groceries? I want to do something nice for him, for all of this. I'm going to make dinner for whenever he gets home. He told me he should be back around six since he went in early. Think you can be here by three?" Sakura hoped it was possible.

"Sure can, girlie. Need me to stop by your place for any essentials? I can do that, too."

"Yeah, if you could. A few more comfortable outfits would be good. Oh, and can you grab my square glass pan and my apron? He... doesn't have much for cooking essentials here. He's got everything else, but his kitchen is missing almost all of the essentials. He must not be much of a cook." She shrugged.

"Yeah, sure thing. Oh, I'm so excited! Step by step, sweetie. Step by step."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your hopes up there Cupid," Sakura replied sarcastically. "Go back to work. Bye!" She didn't wait for an answer before cutting the line, knowing Ino would just drag the conversation on to embarrass her more.

She couldn't help but wonder, though. What was his reasoning? Why was he suddenly being so kind to her?


	19. Bonds

Sasuke found that he spent most of his day distracted and checking his phone periodically. He was worried, though he wouldn't dare admit it to anyone who asked. He'd just tell them he had a lot on his mind with cases. It wasn't entirely a lie, but it would be a lie for him to say that was the primary thing on his mind.

Much to his surprise, there was no call or text. Nothing. He got a short one in the morning in response to his message about the alarm, and then nothing. He assumed that meant she was okay; after all, he'd told her not to hesitate. He caught DA Yamanaka passing by his office with keys in hand. She popped her head in and told him that she would be stopping over to bring Sakura a few things, to which he nodded.

The rest of the day passed without question, and before he knew it, he had managed to catch up on the work he'd thought would take him extra time. That was a good thing; it meant he could take some more time off later on if he needed. With everything out of the way he packed up his things and made his way to his car, happy he'd been able to even get out a little earlier than expected. He had told Sakura he would be back closer to six, but it was only five and he was on his way to his car.

Well... might as well surprise her a little. His house wasn't very far, and within minutes he was there. He picked up one small thing on the way, though: a bottle of cherry wine, non-alcoholic since he knew she was still on medication. It was more for the taste than anything.

Coming up to the door, he could see there were lights on in... the kitchen? Interesting to say the least. He unlocked the door and turned off the alarm, hearing... humming? Singing? He wasn't entirely sure what he heard. And... what was that smell? Curiosity piqued his interest as he came into the kitchen, seeing her standing there in front of the stove. Her hair was tied up in a small ponytail, bangs hanging around her face; she had on a white apron with a pink cherry blossom design, and she was hinging a soft tune to herself while she worked.

It... reminded him of someone. It reminded him of his mother, spending every evening cooking in front of the stove. He never understood why his father spent so much time in the kitchen while his mother was cooking; it seemed sort of redundant, and he chalked it up to his father wanting to steal bites of dinner before it was even finished. He'd always teased him and called him a glutton for it.

Now... he understood why. Feelings he didn't know existed fluttered into his chest as he watched her, seeing the concentrating look on her face; he could see that she was enjoying whatever it was she was making. He hadn't been aware she liked cooking, although he knew her cooking was good; she seemed to always have some kind of snack or extra food for lunch to share whenever they were working together.

"I finished early today," he announced as he made his way into the kitchen. She seemed to startle momentarily; she must have been distracted with her cooking. The soft singing immediately stopped, and he watched as an adorable blush crossed her features.

"I-I'm sorry— I just... um. I thought that, maybe, you know, since I'm staying here and you're kind enough to let me, that I should at least, um... earn my keep I guess," she stammered sheepishly. He let out a small chuckle.

"Of course. I don't mind. It smells good, whatever it is." He wasn't much of a cook himself; he normally just ordered food and ate it, because he couldn't be bothered to cook. Maybe having her around for a little longer wouldn't be so bad... would it?

* * *

Sakura was having the time of her life while she was cooking. She felt incredibly accomplished, and his kitchen was massive. Way larger than hers was! She'd always enjoyed cooking from the time she was young and being able to cook for someone else just made it even better. She planned to make a nice lasagna that could be taken for leftovers since she'd managed to figure out that he liked tomatoes. He always seemed to eat all the tomatoes when she'd brought small vegetable trays down to the kitchenette area near her office. They seemed to magically disappear into his gut faster than she could get to them!

She was so into her cooking that she'd lost track of time, not knowing that Sasuke was going to end up coming back early. The sound of the door opening with the key or the alarm being stopped didn't even register; she felt so at home that she was unbothered by the sound, knowing it was likely just him anyway. No one would have both a key and a code for the alarm. It hadn't dawned on her how long he'd been standing there watching her cook, listening to her singing, until he spoke up.

And boy, did she startle. Not in the way that she was scared or suddenly anxious, but in the way that she was deeply, _deeply_ embarrassed by what he'd found. She turned around immediately, staring at him, seeing the look on his face, and feeling her own face turn about twenty shades of red as she tried to find the words to say.

"I-I'm sorry— I just, um, thought that maybe, you know, since I'm staying here and you're kind enough to let me, that I should at least, um, earn my keep I guess," she stammered, fidgeting and wishing her face hadn't turned such a bright shade of red. The fact that he laughed at her after she said that certainly didn't help, either!

"Of course. I don't mind. It smells good, whatever it is." Oh... Well, that was an unexpected compliment. It caused her to blush a little more, nodding quietly and quickly turning around to get back to her cooking. She wondered how much he'd heard and how long he'd been standing there; she found herself deeply embarrassed that he'd caught her just standing there and singing. She usually kept that sort of thing to herself.

"It's, um... a meat lasagna. I-I noticed you liked tomatoes, so I thought you'd probably like it." His only response was a quiet grunt before he was hanging his jacket up and setting his bag down near the door. His gun came off his waist and was locked in a safe as well.

"Oh, I also um, took the liberty of running a load of laundry. I uh, hung your shirts as well, so they won't get wrinkled." She'd come to stand in the archway leading to the kitchen and dining area, seeing him in the living room. He looked at her with a curious look, and she rubbed the back of her head. "A trick my mom taught me," she explained. "If you wash dress clothes and put them through the dryer and make sure you hang them right when they come out, then you usually don't have to iron them. They'll stay nice and straight." He seemed... intrigued by that fact. Leaving him with it, she went back to preparing dinner, wishing she could shake the awkward silence that seemed to be happening between them.

* * *

Hanging clothes while they were still warm, huh? She really was resourceful. He hadn't expected her to do any of those chores; he could tell that she'd done more than just that, though he was hoping she hadn't pushed herself too hard. The more he thought about it, the less worried he was about having her around. He sort of liked it; coming home to a hot meal and fresh, warm clothes was a welcome change for once. It meant one less thing he had to deal with on any given day and gave him time to do something he rarely had time to: relax. He was... a workaholic, to say the least. He worked at the office, then came home to work even more. Everything had to do with work. Tonight, he felt inclined to do something else.

"Sakura?" He asked, peering back into the kitchen. "Do... you want to do anything tonight? Watch a movie, maybe?" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He had no idea what kinds of movies she liked, but he'd be inclined to watch whatever she wanted. He wasn't exactly picky.

She looked at him with a surprised expression. "Oh, sure. The lasagna should be done in probably an hour or so if that's okay? It just needs to bake." He gave her a nod, letting her go back to the kitchen as he made his way upstairs. He might as well take the time to shower while she was finishing with dinner. Plus, a shower gave him the time to think about things.

Standing under the hot water, he considered how this was going. Maybe he could offer for her to stay as a roommate. He could clear out the second room and perhaps they could move some of her furniture in there. She had a house to herself; that would be doable. He could move his office equipment into the living room, and if she wanted she could sell her old place and have money to work from, and in the future consider her own place again.

He knew what they had couldn't be permanent. It would be too dangerous for her to stay for very long. If _they_ found out that she was important to him, she'd be made a target. He'd done well so far to keep everyone at arm's length for their own safety. He'd tried to do that with her, but he found it difficult. She just seemed to worm her way past any and every defence he put up. It was making him question everything he'd ever done up to this point, made him wonder if maybe it was worth it. If maybe... he should just let things happen as they did.

It didn't sound too bad. For now, he figured that was what he'd have to do. He'd let the chips fall where they may, and see how things went. If keeping her close was the only way to keep her safe, then he'd do that. He was determined not to let anything happen to her.

Stepping out of the shower he quickly got dressed in a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt, making his way down to the kitchen.


	20. Omnia Causa Fiunt

Sakura was just cutting into the lasagna as he came down, and it smelled even better than it had before. He grabbed the bottle of wine that he'd bought and set it on the table, reaching for a couple of glasses that he had.

"I picked up non-alcoholic wine since I know you're still taking a prescription for your pain, right?" He asked, setting the glasses out as well as plates and cutlery on the table for them.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks, by the way. What kind?" She was just finishing cutting the lasagna, carrying it over to the table to set it in the middle.

"Cherry. DA Yamanaka said you liked cherry-flavoured things." Of course, he'd gone to the blonde for recommendations. "How do you two know each other, anyway?" He hadn't realized the two of them seemed to know each other until Sakura was in the hospital.

"Oh, Ino and I have been friends for years," she said, taking a seat and grabbing a piece of lasagna for herself as well as a glass of wine. "We've been friends since we were kids, actually. Went to all the same schools, spent so much time together, all kinds of things. We were even roommates when we were in post-secondary. I was a few years ahead of her, but we managed."

"Oh, right. I forgot you mentioned you graduated early," he remarked. She was incredibly intelligent; very few people would be taking post-secondary education at the age she did.

"Yeah, I was always... advanced, I guess." Advanced was one way of putting it. As a kid she'd been incredibly shy; books and studying were her best friends aside from Ino. She was nothing more than a wallflower that everyone overlooked. It was a fact that she didn't like to talk about; not something she was going to voice to him any time soon, if ever.

"Well, it means you're good at your job, and that's what matters. You have a unique skill set that's hard to find." He took a bite of his lasagna, a surprised expression crossing his features. It was good. Incredibly good. It reminded him of his mother's cooking. "Since you've been in the hospital they've had to outsource things, and... let's just say things aren't running as efficiently." Something he was certainly annoyed by. "Not that you should rush getting back to work. I just mean... you really are that good at your job."

Sakura was surprised by the compliments. "Really?" She asked, a little dumbfounded. "I thought you found me... annoying. You seemed to give that impression, anyway."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm efficient. I had no idea how your processes worked when we first met, and I wasn't keen on the idea of a partner. I've always worked cases on my own and only worked with outsourced professionals. It wasn't until they hired you that I was told I had to work with anyone... let alone you." Let alone her? What was that supposed to mean?

"You have a problem with working with... women?" She asked, hoping that wasn't what he was implying. By the surprised look on his face, she gathered she was very, very wrong about that.

"No. That doesn't matter to me in the slightest. I've worked with some great female cops and detectives when I was still just a street cop, and they did their jobs just fine. I just mean... no one seems to understand efficiency the way you and I do. It works. I can't complain about that." Sakura was deeply surprised; this had to be the most they'd ever held a conversation even in the field.

"Yeah... I get what you mean, I think. Most people I can't really bounce ideas off of or just talk about what I'm looking at because they don't understand most of the technical jargon."

He laughed. "Some of it I _don't_ understand, to be honest," he interjected.

"Well, you're not medically trained, so that makes sense. But you know enough that I can talk about it, and you seem to understand what it is I'm talking about, at least to some degree. I see the complex things, I see the things that require that complex mental processing, and you see the simple things. You catch the things that I overlook. And I find the things you can't." She took a bite of her own lasagna, humming happily. Amazing as always. She was quick to start eating the rest, easily finishing off a single piece as she leaned back, He, too, seemed quite hungry; he was already reaching for a second piece, having quickly finished his first. She stared at him curiously, frowning as he was seemingly very into whatever he was eating.

"...you don't cook much, do you?" She asked, head tilted to the side. It was enough to bring him out of being engrossed with the food.

"No, not usually. Not a fan of it." Sakura almost laughed. With that response, it was almost like he was glad to have someone around to cook.

"Well, you're in luck," she said with a soft chuckle. "I love cooking. So if you don't mind, as long as I'm here, you'll have all the home-cooked meals you want." She gave him a bright smile.

He didn't miss how her smile lit up her entire face. "Sure. Sounds good to me." He wasn't going to complain. Once he was finished his second piece he stood up, grabbing the dishes and making his way over to the sink.

"Oh, don't worry about that--I can get those," she said quickly, standing up from her chair and attempting to make her way to the sink. With her condition at the moment, standing up too quickly was a bad idea; she felt the edges of her vision go black, and she was seeing stars as a wave of dizziness hit her. She'd always been prone to fainting even before the accident, but it had been much worse as of late.

Strong arms caught her before she hit the ground, and she found as her vision cleared she was leaning against him, feeling relieved. She could hear the worry in his voice as he spoke "Sakura? Are you okay?" He asked, sounding tense.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head slowly to try and clear it. "I just got dizzy for a second there. I, uh... I've always been prone to fainting, but it's kind of worse since... you know." Since she got attacked. Since she was shot. Since she _almost died._ Her vision started to clear and she was able to stand, though he seemed inclined to keep a firm grip on her arms to make sure she stayed balanced. She didn't mind; being close to him was... nice. 

He was looking down at her, mixed emotions in his eyes even though his expression was as it always was: stoic, almost disinterested in a way. It was interesting how even though his facial expression might not change, his emotions were always there, behind those dark eyes of his.

"I'm okay... I promise," she said with a softer tone. Despite that, she wasn't stepping away. Slowly she met his gaze, and it felt for a brief moment like everything stopped. Her gaze only glanced away briefly as he raised his hand, fingers gently brushing along her cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Okay," he said softly, releasing her and clearing his throat before he turned away. "I'll do the dishes. You go sit down and rest." She could still feel the sensation as he'd done that. She didn't know what to do or how to feel; all she knew was that her heart was racing, and she was fairly certain her cheeks had turned a bright shade of red. Taking a deep breath she made her way back to the living room, opting to get a movie ready. She wondered... an action movie, maybe? She tended to lean toward stupid sappy romance dramas, but she had a feeling that wasn't going to be his cup of tea.

\-----------------------------------------

As he was finishing with the dishes, Sasuke was internally cursing at himself. Just like always, he'd let his guard slip in front of her. He'd been worried about her and he just couldn't help himself. He couldn't help being that close to her, looking at her beautiful face, the way her soft pink hair framed it... Just how pretty she was. He reminded her of girls he remembered from high school; she struck him as the quiet, pretty girl who might've gone unnoticed in high school but at the end of the day turned out to be the prettiest one of the bunch. 

Once the dishes were done he came into the living room, seeing she had a movie picked out and ready to go. Well, movie night was fine by him. He was surprised to find out that she'd picked out an action movie; he would have expected something romantic, judging by her personality. Maybe she was saving that for a girls' night with DA Yamanaka, or something like that.

"Action movie, huh?" He asked with surprise.

"Yeah. I thought romance flick probably wouldn't be your thing," she said with a sheepish chuckle. He shrugged, taking a seat in the armchair and popping up the recliner, leaving her to take the couch. He was doing his best to create space after earlier; he knew he needed to start focusing more on keeping away from her, keeping anything from developing. 

"Yeah, not really." He nodded at the television. "Go ahead and start it." He knew he wasn't going to be watching much of the movie, anyway. He was using it to buy time and think; pretending to be engrossed in the movie was a good way to do that. He stole the occasional glance at her throughout the movie; she was quite interested in it, even getting excited at various parts. Her energy was infectious; just her presence made the smallest smile creep across his features. He couldn't help staring at her when she wasn't looking; she was just so pretty, so beautiful. 

Damn it. Maybe he should just give it a try. He'd held out this long, hadn't he? So many years, not a single date. Granted, none of them had exactly caught his eye... Well, except one girl he had a passing interest in. A redhead from high school by the name of Karin. The girl had practically obsessed over him for years, sending him cards, flowers, you name it; they'd been friends, though they'd lost touch over the years. He still occasionally talked to Suigetsu and Jugo, but only once a month or so.

Glancing back over as the movie was just finishing, he saw that Sakura had once again fallen asleep. Tired herself out with all the work she'd done throughout the day, no doubt. He gave it a little longer, checking his emails on his phone before coming back over and very gently picking her up. Like earlier that morning, she was sound asleep without a word; he gently carried her over to the bed, setting her down and tucking the blankets around her again before making his way back down to the couch, tucking in for the night and falling asleep quickly.

\---------------------------------------

She was asleep when he brought her upstairs, eventually slipping into dreams once she was tucked in. It was the same dream that had haunted her for ages; she walked into her house, and was shot, and watched from above like a ghost as she slowly slipped away. It was the same scenario, over and over again. This time, all she could hear was the echo of the gunshot, over and over and over again.

She woke up screaming, covered in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. She could still hear the gunshot, over and over again, echoing; she covered her ears and tried to blot it out, tears streaming down her face as the fear and anxiety gripped her.

She could hear pounding footsteps coming up the stairs, and a familiar shadow of a figure was in the door; without even turning the lights on, Sasuke ran over to the window, shutting it before he was on the bed next to her, pulling her in tightly. His voice was soothing as one hand reached up, stroking her hair gently while the other held her tightly against him. He slowly rocked with her, attempting to soothe her as best he could; she just sobbed against him heavily, terrified beyond belief.

Once she eventually calmed down, she shakily wiped the tears from her eyes, wishing she didn't feel like such a scared fool. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," she said tearfully, sniffling more and wiping at her face. She felt his hand on her cheek again, helping to wipe at the tears before he shook his head.

"No, you didn't wake me. Someone was shooting firecrackers in the park down the street," he said with a hint of irritation. "There's a couple of college students that live in the apartments near there, and they sometimes do that." He continued to gently stroke her hair, keeping her close. She wanted to ask, but... she wasn't sure. She was too scared to go back to sleep at this point.

"You okay?" He asked softly, rubbing her back gently.

"I..." She couldn't even find the words to respond. "I-I don't know if... I'll be able to go back to sleep, not after that," she admitted quietly. Screw it. She might as well ask. "I... I still feel it's unfair to make you sleep on your couch, so... would you stay? Just... just for tonight?" She glanced up at him; his face was barely visible in the low light. He seemed to contemplate the idea, glancing away as he thought about it.

"Sure," he finally said. "Let me go grab my phone. I'll be right back, okay?" He gave it a moment before slowly getting up and leaving; she could hear him going down the stairs. She took that opportunity to get up and move to the washroom, grabbing some tissues to blow her nose and taking the opportunity to wash and moisturize her face while he was down there. She'd just finished as he was getting into the bed, sitting and checking his phone; the glow of the screen barely illuminated his face. She slowly made her way to the side of the bed she'd been sleeping on as he turned off his phone's screen and set it on the bedside table.

"Come here," he said softly, beckoning her a little closer. He pulled her in tightly, nestling in under the covers with her. It was like he could tell she was scared and wanted to take that away. She felt deeply touched by his concern, closing her eyes. Much to her surprise, she did fall back asleep like that. Unfortunately, she woke the next morning and he was already gone, but that was to be expected; nevertheless, she had quite the day ahead of her, anyway.

Girls' day... with Ino. And boy, did she have quite the story to talk about.


	21. Gossip Girls

_There's leftover lasagna in the fridge when you get home. Ino and I are going to be at her place for the evening doing girly things. We shouldn't be out too late, but if it's really late I'll let you know if I stay with her. Hope work isn't too stressful._

There. One text message: one simple text message. It'd been a few days since the nighttime incident with the firecrackers; she and Ino had been forced to postpone their girls' day at least twice because of cases that went late in deliberation for her, though Sakura was quite used to it. She was the district attorney, after all; any and every deeply high-profile case came across her desk and was prosecuted by her.

The moment she heard the horn outside she was up with her purse, making sure she did a quick check of everything for Sasuke's sake and setting the alarm and locking the door. She was in the passenger side quickly, relieved to be doing something other than sitting around going crazy.

"Hey there, pretty girl," Ino greeted with a chuckle, pulling out of the driveway and turning toward her own home, which thankfully wasn't too far; about a five-minute drive at most. "Finally, _finally_ we can talk about this juicy, juicy gossip you've been holding out on. You seriously couldn't tell me over the phone, forehead?" Ino seemed pretty miffed her best friend was holding something juicy back; she was always in for good gossip.

"Yeah, but not until we're painting each others' nails, duh. I told you. This is something that requires a girls' night with bad romance movies, ice cream, and nail polish. Besides, we never get to do that anymore. If I'm stuck with this mandatory time off, we might as well take advantage of it." It felt good to get out of there for a bit; things were getting awkward between them, to say the least.

They pulled into the driveway of Ino's home, making their way inside as Ino flicked lights on. Her place was very different decorated; pretty much everything was a shade of purple, and there were various floral arrangements _everywhere_ one could look. A small flower arranging table sat in the front room, though it was devoid of any flowers; clearly, Ino wasn't working on any of her side projects at the moment.

"Okay. I will get the ice cream and you can set up the nail polish and the movie stuff. Oh! I stopped by and grabbed a few more of your things. You'd left most of your polish and vinyls behind, and there was absolutely no way I was letting us have a nail polish night without your jelly stamper. That, and you have that super cute purple holographic polish I really like that I'm still mad you won't tell me where you got it so I can buy like... fifty bottles." Sakura laughed as Ino teased her, setting her things out.

"Well if I tell you, then you'll just go and do your own nails, and that's no good. How can I lure you in for nail polish nights if I don't have your favourite polish on lockdown?" She let out a few more chuckles as she finished setting up, seeing that Ino had grabbed basically her entire collection. The blonde was back with a tub of ice cream for each of them—cherry for Sakura, ube for Ino, of course—and two spoons before sitting down and presenting one hand. Time to get started, it seemed.

Sakura worked on her friend's manicure, first working to tidy up her cuticles, moisturize with nail oil, file and shape her nails, and remove her old polish as she spoke. "Okay, so the other night, I..." Sakura sighed, suddenly feeling glum. She still felt guilty about being such a scaredy-cat, but it wasn't something she could voice to the detective. "Well, as made him dinner, and he seemed to really like it. I mean he actually genuinely liked it. He looked so... happy, sitting there and eating a home-cooked meal. I don't think I've ever seen him smile—ever—before that night."

Ino gasped. "What? Detective Sour-Pants can smile?" Ino asked in a shocked, almost mocking tone. "He always looks like he's got a lemon in his mouth to me."

Sakura chuckled. "You mean that face they just screams complete and total disinterest on anything before him? Oh yeah. I know that look. That's just how he looks, usually. I think he doesn't mean to look or sound so lacking in interest when it comes to things. So far, I think I've learned a lot about him." She thought about the conversations they'd had, the way he'd reacted to certain things.

"Oh yeah? What have you figured out, hmmm?" Ino asked, looking curious but suspicious.

"He's... shy, I guess? But not the kind of shy that Hinata is. He's more controlled. He takes his time and has to think about what he wants to say, if anything. He always looks like he's just processing when you ask him a hard question." It was almost as if he were socially stunted, in a manner of speaking. "I think maybe he just doesn't know how to react to things. Professionally, he's on the ball," she said with a snap of her fingers for emphasis. "But socially? He seems to think through every step, every statement."

Ino looked thoughtful. "So... did you talk to him about that conversation? I mean, about why you left early that night?" Even mentioning it made Ino looked upset—angry on her friend's behalf, really.

"No, I haven't brought it up. I'm too chicken," Sakura admitted, puffing out her cheeks indignantly. Chicken was right. She didn't have the guts to make any kind of move. None whatsoever.

Ino guffawed with laughter. "Chicken is right. You've always been that way, though. I remember in high school you practically hid behind me until you graduated. Most people could barely get a few words out of you. Took me years to get you to hold an actual conversation that didn't involve you looking like kicked puppy every time you're upset or feeling guilty. You still do, sometimes." Ino knew that look all too well from her friend.

"Hey, I try. I was really shy back then, and you know how I am about guys. I always fall for the hot ones, and they just end up with girls way more in their league." She shrugged. Her self-confidence wasn't the best when it came to relationships—mostly because she'd never had any to begin with.

"Oh, shush. Sweetie, you're gorgeous. You're not like, movie star big boobs wicked curves smoking hot, but that's because you don't need it. You've got something other girls don't have. You're just outright _pretty_. And you don't give yourself enough credit. Yeah, you might not be the girl that boys plaster posters all over their room about and have to replace periodically when they get sticky—"

"Ew, Ino, gross. Do you not have a filter?" Sakura remarked with a look of disgust.

"Look, boys do weird things, okay? Anyway—you don't need to be. You're the girl that they look at and go, damn. She is _beautiful_. The girl they want to kiss and hold and marry because she's just _so damn pretty_. You should know this by now."

Sakura looked glum. "Then why don't I have a boyfriend—why haven't I _ever_ had one?"

"Because men are shallow, duh. They'll see you're petty, realize you're about ten times smarter than them, and feel challenged and insecure in their masculinity. Those aren't real men. They're spineless boys. You're so out of their league."

_Sasuke doesn't think that,_ Sakura thought to herself. They'd talked about that. He admired her intellect; he'd even admitted it.

"Fine, whatever. Anyway, you know that thing that happens when I stand up too quick sometimes?"

"Yeah. You were so bad for it in high school. You just fainted out of nowhere sometimes." Many times in the nurse's office for that, that was for sure.

"Yeah, well, it's kinda worse since the accident, and I _kinda_ did it after dinner—"

Ino gasped before Sakura could even finish. "And he caught you?!" She was just about bouncing in her seat—no, correction, _she_ was bouncing.

"Jeez, sit still before I just end up painting your cuticles and fingertips," Sakura ordered. "Yes, he caught me, you sappy romantic. He did more than that."

"Oh! He ki—"

"No."

Ino blinked. "What?"

"No, he didn't kiss me."

"What?!"

"He didn't kiss me. Are you deaf?"

"No, I'm not deaf! Clearly the detective is dense and stupid, though."

"I said he didn't kiss me, I didn't say nothing happened," Sakura replied with irritation.

"Okay, then what? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Stop interrupting and I will!" Sheesh, Ino was hard to stop when she was excited. Too much for Sakura to handle sometimes. "He kind of just... stared at me? And then he touched my cheek, and tucked my hair behind my ear. I don't even know what it meant."

Ino laughed loudly. "It means he thought about kissing you, stupid! The thought definitely crossed his mind." Sakura doubted that. He'd gone back to cold and distant physically after that.

"Yeah, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, we watched a movie after that, and he carried me to bed... again." Now for the hard part. The part she hated admitting. "That night, I... I had... a nightmare. The—the same thing, again. I woke up screaming and crying, and he was there. It was like he just... he didn't think. He just came to me. I asked him to stay, and he did. Since then, we... we've been sleeping to— um. I mean, sleeping in the same bed."

Ino's smirk was mischievous. "You were going to say _sleeping together,_ you naughty girl."

"Yeah, but not like _that_ , you pervert."

"Look, I wouldn't blame you if you did. He's hot, which means probably experienced, and honestly, I totally get not wanting the cobwebs going on." Ino looked wistful, like she wanted the same thing.

"Ew. You are such a pervert."

"I am a woman with needs, thank you very much. Don't judge just because I'm not a virgin like you, forehead." Oh, that horrible word. Sakura hated to be reminded of it.

"Yeah, well, you hung all over Shikamaru for all of high school, so no wonder you aren't."

Ino grimaced. "Ew, that was the most boring sex I've ever had. Please. I've done so much better," she said with a flip of her long hair.

"Ouch. That's harsh. He's married now, so obviously his wife is happy." It'd been recent, though they hadn't been able to attend the wedding unfortunately.

"I was just too much woman for him," Ino said proudly. "I'm too much woman for most guys, though."

"Yeah? Is that why you've been single since... junior year?" Sakura ribbed back.

"College sucks, shut up," Ino replied tartly, earning a laugh from the pinkette at her disgruntled expression.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway... that's really all I have to tell. I'm still just not sure what his goal is. He's giving me mixed signals, and I'm just not sure if I should act on it, or if he's just being nice. I talked to Detective Uzumaki, and... I guess they know each other pretty well. He said that Sasuke blames himself on some level for what happened."

"Well, that's not a surprise, really," Ino said thoughtfully. "Think about it, especially after what happened at the hospital. He was there, Sakura. If he'd been a minute later, or if he hadn't picked up on what you were feeling, if he hadn't followed you home on a hunch, you'd be dead. He was right there when it happened. At the same time, if he'd been a few minutes sooner, he might've been able to stop it from happening. It's the unfortunate 'what-if' scenario. He's probably been beating himself up over it for weeks now. And on top of that, at the hospital, he left you alone for... what, fifteen minutes? And it almost happened again."

"Yeah, but--he left to get food, to look after himself for a little bit. Why beat yourself up over that?" Sakura didn't understand it. Sasuke had no reason to blame himself. He didn't know she was standing outside his office, or that his words were going to upset her as much as they had.

"It doesn't matter why. It matters that it happened. And again -- a few seconds sooner, and he might have been able to stop the guy faster before you had to go and throw yourself out of the bed to save your own life. He might've been able to prevent the guy from even getting to the room. It's the constant need to look at a situation and wonder, what could I have done better? I'm not saying it's good or healthy for him to focus on that, but that's probably why." The more Sakura listened to Ino, the more she knew her friend was right. And it made her wonder--should she ask him about it? Should they have a conversation about why he had no need to feel that way?

In the future, maybe. For now... She was just going to stay quiet and wait. Maybe things weren't going to turn out so bad after all.


	22. Back To The Grind

Today was finally the day. She'd been given the okay to go back to work at somewhat reduced hours (although she'd still been covering light paperwork and doing consultations over x-rays and video for the temp that had been covering during her absence). It was probably strange for the average person to look forward to looking at dead bodies all day, but Sakura had to admit that she was looking forward to it--even if it did mean that someone was likely murdered in the process.

Her first day back was planned to be an easy day. Just some paperwork to go through, followed by finishing up a few of the cases she'd been consulting on, and finally... discussing whether the exhumation orders were wanted or not. She and Sasuke had had a lengthy discussion about what they would do: it had been decided that upon being granted the order by the judge, they would make the decision to talk to the families and ask them if exhumation, in order to find COD, would be an acceptable course of action for them. It would at least give them the chance to consider having closure if the cases truly were related.

They had three meetings lined up today. The first two went without any issue: they both agreed to have the exhumations done and the remains of their loved one re-examined if only to find closure (or perhaps new information if the cases weren't related). Their third family was likely to prove a lot more difficult than the first two. Even during the initial process, they'd been difficult to speak to; grief had taken over them very quickly, almost crippling them in the process.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked as they approached the front door of the home. Sakura took a deep breath to steel herself, ready to be practically bombarded by the family with questions and demands as to why. She just had a certain feeling about this meeting that wasn't sitting right with her.

The door opened, and the woman's face was half a scowl. "Can I help you?" She asked brusquely, almost as if she knew why they were there.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm Detective Uchiha from the Konoha Police Department. This is my partner, Dr. Sakura Haruno. Would you mind if we came in for a few moments?" Sasuke was polite as ever; Sakura was certain he was silently praying the woman would let them in. She seemed hesitant at first, contemplating before eventually giving up and holding the door open for them, earning a soft thanks from both as they came in. She led them to the living room, choosing to at least be hospitable.

"Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water, anything?" She asked politely.

"Coffee would be nice, thank you," the detective answered.

"Just water for me is fine," Sakura responded as well. The woman was gone for a few moments before bringing a tray with coffee and a glass of water for Sakura. She glanced at Sasuke, hoping he might be the one to start the conversation rather than her. She would provide more details if necessary, but this was more his area of expertise than it was hers.

"Ma'am, we're here regarding the case file on your daughter, Uzumaki Miko," he began, doing his best to maintain eye contact and remain formal. "In the process of investigating another case, we believe it's possible that the case surrounding Miko's death may be related." The woman seemed to become tense, shaking her head and closing her eyes as a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"We put in a petition for an exhumation order a few weeks ago, and it was granted by a judge. However, in the course of our investigation, the person responsible for the death in the case we were investigating was killed as he... attacked a witness that had survived his latest attack," Sakura explained. It felt strange, referring to herself in the third person; it almost felt detached in a way.

"So you want my permission to dig up my daughter's grave and bring this whole thing back for what, exactly?" The woman demanded, looking upset. "Can't you just let her rest? She's dead, and you can't leave her alone?"

"Ma'am, that's why we're here," Sasuke said calmly. "We have the exhumation order, but we felt it was best to ask you whether you would be willing to allow us to confirm the suspicions we have."

"And what good is that going to do? If your guy is dead, it's not like charges or a penalty can be laid, now can they?" The woman was up from her seat, pacing angrily. "I doubt you can even give me a good reason as to why this even makes sense," she said angrily.

"I can," Sakura said quickly, glancing at Sasuke. "I think you should because your daughter deserves it. She deserves closure. She deserves to know whether the person responsible for her death got what they deserved or not. It tells us many things. It tells us whether the person responsible for her suffering got the justice rightly owed to them."

"Her _suffering?"_ The woman asked incredulously. "And what would _you_ know about how much my daughter suffered?" She'd thrown her hands up in the air, exasperated. This was going about as well as Sakura expected, but her next statement came purely on impulse.

"A lot, actually," Sakura admitted.

"What, because you've looked at the remains of other poor girls who've suffered? Is that it? Blasphemous. Absolutely unbelievable, how righteous you people think you are--"

"No. I know, because there was a survivor of one of his attacks. Me."

Silence fell over the entire room. Even Sasuke was shocked; the woman stared at Sakura as she undid two of the top buttons of her blouse, pulling it aside to reveal the very edge of the scar that marred her chest. "I survived, barely," she continued. "I watched as he stood over me, as he tortured me, as he _waited_ for me to die. I still hear his voice. I still hear the sound of a gunshot whenever I think about it. I still feel the pain, the agony. It doesn't go away. I still remember lying on the hospital floor, staring at his sick face behind the barrel of the gun he had pointed at my head. It's a face I'll never forget. He's dead, I know. And I think both you--and your daughter--deserve to know whether that man is dead or not. Because if he's not, then that means we need to search for more evidence, and we need to find whoever hurt her, and stop them from creating more victims. That's why." Her words had become firmer and more compelling, leaving both the detective and the woman staring at her with shock. Then, the woman sat down, burying her hands in her face.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I just... I just want this all to be over," she admitted.

"If we're right -- and I'm confident we are," Sasuke began, "then it will be over. If we find the evidence we need, her case will be closed -- and that will be the end of it. No more looking for new evidence, no more searching, nothing. Nothing whatsoever." Sakura could hear the passion in his voice; he truly wanted to give this family closure more than anything. The woman was silent for a bit longer, contemplating before she finally spoke.

"Okay. You have my permission to do whatever you need to in order to put this to rest. I just... I just want this to be over. I want this to be left alone." The exhaustion was evident in her face. Sakura stood up when Sasuke did, politely bidding the woman farewell and thanking her for the refreshments. She saw them out the door, and they were back on the road to the office. They had a bit of a drive ahead of them, so there was time to talk.

"I wasn't expecting that," he commented, glancing in her direction. She'd been distracted with her phone, head popping up in his direction when he spoke.

"Expecting what?" She asked, then it dawned on her. "Oh, right. Sorry. Just distracted," she said with a wave of her hand. "I don't know what came over me there, I just... I felt like she needed that knowledge. She needed to know that the person looking for answers was someone who knew exactly what her daughter had gone through. Someone who understood what it was like to feel... vulnerable. Lost. Someone who knew just how scared her daughter must have been that day, how terrified she felt when she was being tormented before taking her last few breaths." She'd begun to tear up talking about it, sniffling and wiping at her face.

"...it's okay to be scared, you know," he commented softly. "No one blames you. You should stop blaming yourself for it and acting guilty when you are." He seemed to contemplate for a second before continuing. "I'm... still scared sometimes of things, too. It got better over the years, but..."

"But you're still afraid it could happen again. That's why you always check when you come home." A fear of fire.

"Yeah. Sure, I might not panic, and I'm okay if there's a crackling fire in the fireplace, but I always have to be vigilant. I can't fall asleep while the fire burns down; I have to smother it. I have to check to make sure the gas isn't on before I leave and when I get home. There's always that chance. That's the part I can't forget." Wow. That was... deep, coming from him.

"I guess you're right," she admitted. "I never liked guns, to begin with, but it never bothers me if you're carrying one. I know it's your job. A gun saved me just as much as it harmed me, so when I see yours, it doesn't bother me. If it was pointed in my direction, then maybe it'd be a problem. But even if you pulled it out in the field and fired it, I think I'd be okay. The noise might startle me a little, but that's it." 

"I'd never even think of doing that to you," he said sharply. "Never." He was so firm about that; it was like he'd never, ever think of hurting her. Now that she thought about it, he was always incredibly gentle with her despite his rough exterior; he wasn't particularly muscular and had a leaner build, but having seen him in the field and worked with him, she could tell that physically he was quite strong. He always seemed to handle her with a certain gentleness, like she were delicate and soft.

"I know," she replied softly. "You're not that kind of person." She just knew it, somehow. At that moment they'd pulled into the parking lot, and her phone buzzed with an alert. "Looks like the remains for the other two have been exhumed and delivered already. That was faster than I expected. I'll have to run down to autopsy and sign for them, but I'll meet you back up in your office, okay?" He nodded at her and she took off, power-walking to the elevator to make her way down. It was a quick procedure, signing for the remains to ensure the chain of evidence was maintained, and she was on her way back up, turning the corner toward Sasuke's office before nearly bumping into Detective Uzumaki.

"Oi, there you are," he said cheerfully, giving her a wave. "Heard you were back today. Lookin' much better than the last time I saw you," he added teasingly.

"Oh, yeah, my first day back today actually." She returned the smile. "What's up? Sounds like you were looking for me specifically."

"Yeah, actually, I was. I've been meanin' to ask you somethin', but I hadn't had a chance," he began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I was wonderin' if maybe you wanted to, I dunno, grab dinner sometime, or something?" Wait, had she heard him right? Was Detective Uzumaki asking her on a date? Oh, lord. She hadn't ever had to deal with this sort of thing. A date? She didn't even know what to think.

"You mean like... a date?" She asked, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Yeah, that kinda thing." He laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm not really great at this kind of thing, you know?" Well, that made two of them. She thought about it. Sasuke was running hot and cold as usual with her, and that conversation she'd overheard with them wasn't going to go away. Screw it. If he wanted her, he needed to show her. This was the perfect way to do exactly that.

"I think that'd be fun, yeah. I just need to check a few things, but how about I do that, figure out where I have time in my schedule, barring any sudden cases of course, and I'll get back to you." There. That was the perfect out. If she needed to bail, she could just say she had casework to finish. Besides, it gave her time to think about it, too.

"All right! You have my number, so, yeah. See ya around, Sa-- Dr. Haruno!" He looked almost like an excited puppy, sauntering off to his office with a bounce in his step. Even if it didn't turn out, it was at least an excuse to get out. Besides, Naruto would make a good friend if nothing else. Feeling mildly elated, she made her way into Sasuke's office, setting down the paperwork she'd been carrying that he needed to go through and finalize.

"Was that Uzumaki?" He asked as she entered.

"Yeah, it was. You overheard?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah." He paused briefly. "You should go through with it," he commented. "Uzumaki's a nice guy, even if he irritates the hell out of me sometimes. He'd... he'd be good for you." That was certainly a cryptic way to end his statement.

"Yeah? You think so?" She was studying him carefully; he was back to being his professional, withdrawn, callous self again. Maybe he really didn't care. Maybe he meant what he said that day. Just thinking about it stung, but she chose to ignore it.

"Yeah. Like I said... he'd be good for you." He wasn't making eye contact as he said that. Well, if that was the case, then she was damn well going to go ahead with it. 

"Well, I'll let him know, then." She opened up her calendar and checked her phone, texting Naruto immediately. "Looks like I'm free tonight. I don't have anything else I can do today, so I'm going to head back and get ready if that's all right. Ino usually leaves around this time so she can drop me off." She caught a flash in his eyes, one she couldn't explain, but he simply replied with a grunt and let her go. 

Well, fine then. If he wanted things to be that way, then they'd be that way. A date was a date, and she wasn't going to pass it up. 


	23. Believe

A/N: Hey readers! I just wanted to reach out & ask for a little feedback! Since this idea is getting bigger and bigger, I am considering having one plot idea tied into a spin-off fanfiction involving some of the other characters/other ships (such as InoSai, ShikaTem, NaruHina, etc). It would sort of follow simultaneously to some degree with this story and I would try to roll out chapters for both stories at the same time to maintain some consistency (so their timelines match up). Given it would be focusing on other characters, I feel in here it would draw a little too much away from this story’s main focus (SasuSaku) which is why I am considering a spinoff story. Let me know what you guys think in the comments!

—————————————————

She was going on a date. For the first time in her life, someone had asked her on a date. The only thing she was bummed about was the fact that it wasn't with the person she wanted to go on a date with, but at this point, she was convinced it was never going to happen anyway. She was just getting ready to leave as she heard the door open, seeing Sasuke having made it home. She was dressed in a pair of sleek black dress pants with a sheer pink blouse, with a matching soft pink camisole underneath the shirt. The blouse was nice and loosely fitting, a slightly rosier pink than her hair. She opted for pink ballet flats to match the shirt and a black headband in place of her usual red one.

"Oh, hey," she said cheerfully, bounding up to him at the door. He stared at her for a moment, seeming to take in her appearance; it was like he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so. His expression was stiffer than usual, and he replied only with a grunt. What, was he mad now that she was going on a date? He had encouraged it to begin with!

The sound of a horn outside caught her attention, causing her to peer out the window to see Naruto's car. "Well -- my date's here, so I'll be back later sometime. There's, um, leftovers in the fridge from yesterday if you want some." She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse.

"Sakura?" He asked softly, looking hesitant before he spoke again. "You... you look nice."

Her cheeks flushed pink. "Thanks," she said shyly, turning and ducking out the door before she allowed herself to change her mind. She slid into the passenger seat of the car, receiving a warm greeting as she did.

———————————

He was torn between saying something and letting it happen. The logical, rational part of him knew that it was better to let Naruto have her. He was better for her in so many ways; even if he was also an orphan, he was better-mannered, more socially apt, and less... scarred.

Despite that... there was a certain feeling that the Uchiha couldn't shake. The fact that it upset him just made him more agitated; he knew why he was upset. He was jealous, deeply so. He'd done his best to keep it under wraps, but he was certain that she noticed. She always seemed to notice when he was bothered. Was this her intention, perhaps? To make him jealous so he'd make a move?

Clever, if it was.

Opening the door to his home he was met with her standing before him. The sight almost took his breath away; he'd thought she was pretty before, but now... now it was even more so. She wore a beautiful sheer blouse with a camisole, sleek black pants, and pink flats. She was breathtakingly beautiful. He could swear he'd never seen a woman with such beauty. By his standards, she was angelic. She was perfect. The way her hair just tickled the sides of her face, reaching just past her chin; the way she always wore a headband as a simple accessory, which did wonders. Her hair always smelled nice; it was the faint scent of cherry blossoms and strawberries, giving her a natural perfume that he found intoxicating.

And she was so... small. Delicate in a way, but not so much a damsel; she'd proven she could take care of herself in most situations. He worried not because she was weak or useless, but because he cared. She was special to him.

Stop it, he scolded himself, realizing he'd been staring. Even as she left he still stared; he couldn't get the image of her out of his mind. He didn't know what to do; lately every time he looked at her, all he could think about was how much he wanted to grab her and kiss her. How much he enjoyed listening to her talk, just to hear the sound of her sweet voice. How it pained him when she cried, tugging at his heartstrings. How angry it made him when she was tormented by her fears because he couldn't do a damn thing about them.

He knew what was happening.

He was falling for her. Hard.

And in the end... he knew he wouldn't be good enough for her. Not for a sweet, gentle, beautiful soul like her. Not if she were to get the life she deserved, safe and sound.

———————————

They reached the restaurant he'd picked out. It was... not what she was expecting. Walking in, she felt incredibly overdressed; it was more casual of an environment. It was a ramen restaurant, though their menu had other varieties that were more enticing to her. They were quickly seated at a corner table; the main restaurant was abuzz with people, but they were far enough away that the sound wouldn't be a bother.

"This place is kind of nice," she said, though it was partly a lie. It wasn't the kind of place she expected to go to on a date. A casual outing, for sure, but a date? Not a chance.

"Yeah! It's my favourite place in town. The old man makes the best ramen I've ever had!" He was animated and energetic, taking a seat across from her as he rubbed his neck. "I might eat here a little too often, ya know?" Well, at least she had good company. Naruto was incredibly nice and had this infectious energy that could make anyone smile and have a good time. He could warm peoples' hearts just with his presence. For Sakura, being in the mental state she was as of late, it was a relief. A welcome one.

"I'm not a big fan of ramen, but their teriyaki chicken sounds good. I think I'll get some of that. And some fried pork dumplings, too." Sweet meals were more her thing, not so much salty ramen. As the waitress came and took their orders she took the liberty of ordering a soda as well.

"So... how long have you been in Konoha?" Naruto asked with a curious look.

"Oh, I've been here most of my life. I went to Asagao Girls Academy for most of my school years." Hopefully, he wouldn't feel out of place with her talking about school; unfortunately, the school was the only thing she'd known for far too many years.

"Whoooaaa, you went to Asagao? Only the really smart girls go there, I hear. Isn't that the school for girls in advanced academics and uh... stam fields?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. Stam fields?

"You mean... STEM fields?" She asked, looking uncertain.

"Yeah yeah, that one! I dunno what it stands for, though," he admitted with a laugh. He was... not the brightest banana in the bunch, from what she could tell. Anyone in their right mind should at least know what the STEM fields are!

"STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Advanced fields that require significant discipline and study, and fields where women tend to be lacking. Technically speaking I fall under the science field, though my discipline is more medical." She took a sip of her soda, watching him carefully. He had... the dumbest look on his face. He looked like he thought she was speaking some kind of foreign language or something.

"I think I get it," he said, rubbing his temple. "I hated studying. I took criminal psychology and criminal justice, but man, that stuff hurt my brain. I prefer just to deal with people. People are easy to understand!" So he... wanted the easy way out.

Oh boy. This was going to be a very long date... especially if he was like this. Sakura never expected anyone to be as intelligent as her; she knew very well she was in a league of her own, but this? Oh boy, this guy had to be dumber than a post. He was the definition of a dumb muscle-brain cop. Talk about awkward.

At least Sasuke can hold a conversation, she thought dryly before quickly scolding herself. Damn if! Why was he on her mind again?! She was supposed to be forgetting about him, not thinking about him! At this rate, her date was going to be a failure. She needed to focus.

"People can be complicated and nonsensical,"

She stated simply as she took a sip of her soda. At least she was quick to continue the conversation. "People are ruled by emotions, and emotions aren't measurable or quantifiable or even predictable. Not in the way other sciences are. It's a soft science." Sure, perhaps brain chemistry could be measured on some level, but it wasn't understood enough to be nearly as quantifiable. It also seemed that the bigger words she used, the more confused Naruto's expression became.

"Oi, that sounds kinda like an insult," he said with narrowed eyes.

"It's not. It's a fact." It was a veiled insult... sort of. She respected psychology, but she also knew it would never be as easily determined as other sciences. It had too many variables and no one scenario could perfectly fit a set of parameters. It was based more on probability than exact conditions.

"So um, anyway... how've ya been since gettin' out of the hospital? Ya plannin' on goin' home soon?" He seemed genuinely curious. "Not that I think you shouldn't be staying with ass— uh, I mean, Uchiha." Wait a minute...

"...'ass'? Oh, you can't just go to call him that and not explain that one to me." Now Sakura was invested. If Naruto had dirt on Sasuke...

"Okay okay okay! That jerk and I went to school together, kinda like you and Ino. Well, actually, we kinda lived together too. We were both foster kids growin' up, and we looked out for each other." Naruto's expression turned grumpy. "Now he grew up and got all this ego, and he's a total show off. And an ass. So I call him asshat, cause he's got his head up his ass most of the time." He laughed. "One time, I told him he had a stick so far up there it was formin' his spine!" Oh, boy. So they were rivals, but it was fairly one-sided from what she could tell.

"Can't imagine why he'd be like that to you." Her tone was neutral, but in her head, it was deeply sarcastic. He was... kind of annoying if she was being honest. He was nice, energetic, enthusiastic—but the kind of guy you'd want at a party for socializing purposes, not necessarily the guy you'd want to date. Nevertheless, he had a big heart, and she could respect that. The more their date went on, the more she was beginning to realize they would be better off friends and nothing more.

Ah, well. At least she got that much out of the date. It was better than nothing!

Their food arrived, and Sakura managed to keep up with their conversation. Naruto would chat away animatedly, and she enjoyed it. Even just having him around brightened her spirits. He was funny, and he made her laugh quite a bit. Dessert was just as good; and as they reached Sasuke's place again, he stepped out of the car to chat one last time before she went in.

"So... did ya enjoy yourself?" He asked with a smile.

"I did, actually," she said with a chuckle. Now was the time, though. "Naruto, I... I have to tell you something, though." This was going to be hard. Very hard. "Honestly, as much as I did have fun, and as much as I would absolutely love to get to know you and spend more time together, I want to be honest. I... there's no easy way to say this. You're not really my type, so I don't think we'd work out. Don't get me wrong—you're a wonderful guy, and I can tell you have a big heart. It's just, for me... I don't know. My... my sights, I guess, are set on someone else right now." He looked a little dejected, laughing awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I see," he said softly. "So... no more dates, but we're at least friends? I think I can do that. You're really kind, Sakura. And I think you have a big heart, too—and you're really pretty. So tell ya what... if you need a guy to get advice from, I'll be there, got it?" He gave her a big thumbs up, that goofy grin plastered across his face. "I've got your back. No matter what." Wow. He'd taken it much easier than she expected. He was certainly quite the optimist.

"Hey, hey, one last thing—you might've missed the memo, but there's a big party going on next weekend. Big holiday party for everyone in the precinct. You gotta come! That, and I need your help convincing Uchiha he'll have a good time." He leaned over and whispered. "Somethin' tells me he might go if you do. He's always tryin' to compete with me, so if he hears I convinced you he might show up. Please! I gotta drink his pompous ass under the table!"

Sakura let out a laugh. "I'll see what I can do. Careful, though. If you start a drinking contest, I might show up and drink you both under the table," she warned as she made her way to the house. "See you at work," she said with a final wave before entering the house.


	24. Realizations

Watching her leave for her date with Naruto, Sasuke was a mix of emotions. One part of him had wanted to stop her; he wanted her to spend the evening with him, not with that blonde idiot. Another part of him -- the rational part, or so he thought -- said that it was good for her. Not just good for her to get out, but for her to find someone that was better suited for her. Naruto would do that. Sure, he was a bit of an idiot and incredibly dense, but he was kind and caring. No matter what happened, Naruto would take care of her. That much Sasuke could count on him for.

He felt... Lost, sitting there alone. He'd grown used to her presence most evenings. She did well to always make sure he had a hot meal for dinner, no matter how busy their day had been; some days she even left the office early, allowing him to come home after a long day of work to a warm meal. Her food was incredible, too; she'd done well to learn how to cook, much unlike him.

Making his way to the fridge, he pulled out the lasagna and warmed it up, glad he at least had a bit of her cooking to enjoy. His meal was oddly quiet; normally while they ate, she would chatter away, and although he would occasionally add to the conversation he generally felt more inclined to just listen to her talk. He liked the sound of her voice. It was soft, sweet, and full of warmth and energy. Her whole personality reminded him of the spring season; she was bright, lovely, and full of life whenever she was around.

She filled his world with life if he was being honest.

He knew the feelings he was experiencing, even if he didn't want to admit they existed. He was jealous of Naruto. He was jealous that he couldn't be the one to give her the life she deserved. He was jealous that Naruto was going to be better at that than he was -- even if he'd never admit it to the blonde, given how much it would stroke his ego to do so. Regardless, he needed to ensure that Sakura was getting what she needed out of this date. He wanted to make sure it went well.

So, knowing where they were headed--given Naruto hadn't been able to shut up about it the rest of the day--he grabbed his keys and got into his car. He was used to surveillance jobs; he found the restaurant and sat across the street, seeing the two of them sitting near one of the windows. He tried to mentally rationalize that he was just making sure everything was going okay and that absolutely nothing was going wrong... but deep down, he knew why he was sitting there. He knew it was out of jealousy. He knew he just wanted to see her laugh and smile, even if he couldn't hear it. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and for some reason, that was upsetting to him. Stupid jealousy. He didn't want to be jealous about it, but he was.

Becoming irritated, he decided he'd give up; they would be back soon, anyway. He fired up his car and drove back to the house, only beating them by approximately ten minutes or so; they were just paying their bills as he was leaving. He was quick to rush upstairs and change into a more casual outfit, scrambling back down and plopping himself in the recliner. He could see her coming up to the front door, so he turned the tv on and typed in a random channel, pretending to be engaged in it. It was... a hockey game. He hated sports. His only experiences with watching sports had been Naruto and Kiba hollering and screaming at the top of their lungs, jumping up and shrieking so loud it gave him a headache.

She opened the door, and he spared her a single glance. "Hey." One simple greeting, before pretending to enjoy watching a bunch of guys chase down and hit a rubber chunk with wooden sticks and body-check one another into the boards. "How'd it go?" Keep it simple, he thought to himself. He just wanted basic details. Did she enjoy herself? Did the date go well? Did he have to throttle Naruto for something or other? That was all he needed.

"Yeah, it was actually pretty fun," she said honestly, glancing at the TV. "Hockey? I didn't know you liked sports." He responded with little more than a shrug, pretending to be engaged in the game. She seemed to pick up on the awkwardness. "O...kay then. I'm going to, uh, get ready for bed." And with that, she'd disappeared up the stairs.

He just had to keep reminding himself. Naruto would be better for her. Safer. He'd look after her in ways that Sasuke couldn't. And with Naruto, she wouldn't be a target. He couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk losing anyone else that mattered to him.

Not like he'd lost his parents.

—————————————

She swore she was never going to understand Detective Uchiha. Never. As she made her way up the stairs, her phone rang: Ino, of course.

"Sakura! Details, honey. Details. How'd your date go?" Ino was way too invested in this.

"Well... I guess it depends where I start." There was a lot to unpack about the date. She flopped back across the bed. "From a dating perspective? Not really my thing. There are just certain parts of his personality that I felt didn't click, at least not as a date."

Ino laughed. "Yeah, I had a feeling. He's not much of an intellectual, I guess you could say. Book-smart things aren't his forte, and even he admits it." That was one way to put it, Sakura surmised. "He's just not a fit for you there, is what you're saying?"

"Pretty much, yeah. It's kind of one of those things that you can overlook as a friend and wave off, but in a relationship... not so much. But—that brings me to my next point. It wasn't actually a bad date. He's fun, he's energetic, and he's got this... gosh, I don't even know how to describe it. This vibe that just..."

"That makes you calm and comfortable just by being around him?" Ino offered.

"Yeah, kind of. It's hard to explain. He's charismatic, and he kind of just draws you in, in that regard. Ultimately, despite him not clicking in a few ways, I'm not disappointed. He's a great guy, and I'm definitely not against spending more time with him. I just think we'd be better friends than we would a couple. I think he seemed to get that, too."

"Careful there, forehead. That boy will surprise you if you're not watching," Ino warned with a chuckle.

"Surprise? What do you mean?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Look. He might not be book-smart, but he's far from stupid. He's a little dense when it comes to a few things, but put that man in an interrogation room, and it's like a switch flips. That man has won entire freakin' juries over for me with his testimonies. God, working cases in a courtroom with him there? Like a warm knife through softened butter. So yeah, he might not be a book-smart or a big intellectual, but when it comes to people? He's your guy. I don't know how he does it. It's almost like magic."

"You know, Ino, that actually makes sense. Even when I felt maybe a little annoyed by him, I never wanted to walk away or leave or end the date. I still felt like I was enjoying myself. He was genuinely interested in me as a person, even if I said a few things he didn't quite get. Maybe I was just expecting more than what I got out of a conversation with him." Maybe she'd been a bit... harsh?

"It's hard not to, with how you are. You'd never been on a date before, and you're used to talking to people who understand you. He might not understand all the scientific talk, but he's great. And he'll make a great friend if that's all you get out of it. Believe me, if you need to talk to a guy for advice on things, he's your guy." Sakura understood that. And she knew it was okay for her to feel that Naruto just wasn't her type, romantically.

"Well, now that I know he's such a great guy, you know what we have to work on," Sakura said with a chuckle. "Know anybody around the office he might like or vice versa?"

"Hmm... You know, I actually might. My assistant, Hinata, always gets flustered when he comes in. She seems to conveniently say she's going for coffee if she knows he's coming, and any time she talks to him, she just seizes up and turns ten shades of red."

"That sounds promising. Okay, tomorrow I'll talk to him a bit and see what can be done. Besides, I really do want to be his friend, at the very least."

"Do yourself a favour—he's got a suspect he's going to be interrogating tomorrow. Go watch him work his magic. It'll blow your mind." Sakura was deeply intrigued.

"Okay. Will do.” Now she was excited. She always loved watching interrogations, and to hear that Naruto was a master at them had her even more intrigued. “I’m going to head to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Ino.”

“Good night, sweetie!” She hung up the phone, finishing the rest of her nighttime routine before peering down the stairs to see what Sasuke was doing. She could see the hockey game was still on, but he was distracted by something on his phone. Well, if he planned to stay up later, that was on him. She was exhausted from the day, and just wanted to sleep.

And sleep she did—hard. She knew at some point Sasuke had come to bed, but she hadn’t registered it at the time; when she woke up he was already gone, and there was a message on her phone.

_Had to go in early to talk to a suspect. Didn’t want to wake you. Uzumaki said he wanted to consult with you on something for a case he’s working. I told him what time you’d be in. See you at the office._ Well, that was kind of him not to wake her. Nevertheless, she was a little bummed he hadn’t. She would have at least got up to make him breakfast.

Grabbing her own, she made her way to the office, seeing Naruto waiting for her. He gave her a smile with that big goofy grin of his, and she couldn’t help smiling back.

“Hey there. Detective Uchiha said you wanted my help with something?” She asked curiously, taking the file he’d held out for her.

“Yeah, somethin’ to do with a case I’m working,” he said. “There are some x-rays in there I wanted a second look at. Sasuke said he’d trust your judgement on these, and so do I.” They made their way over to the autopsy area, with Sakura quickly snapping up the scans on the wall and turning on the light.

“Well, that depends what you’re wanting a second opinion on,” she said honestly. “I do better with physical bones than I do scans.” She was examining them as she spoke, mumbling a few things to herself.

“Mostly just the injuries. The docs were able to give me information on the current injury profiles, but that was it. Sasuke said you’d be able to give me more on old injuries, somehow.”

“Well, yeah, I sort of can. When a bone is broken, the remodelling leaves specific differences in the bone that can be seen best when examined by hand, but sometimes will be present on an x-ray. See here?” She pointed to one of the scans of the femur. “You can see here there’s a slight discolouration on the scan, showing that there was a fracture to the femur. If you look at this, there’s similar remodelling to the fibula and tibia that’s roughly the same age, suggesting the victim broke their leg at some point. Based on the location and angle of the breaks, it’s likely this was with some kind of blunt object, like a bat or a pipe.”

Naruto frowned. “Well, that’s interesting. The guy I talked to said he got it from a car accident. Is that possible with these injuries?”

“Absolutely not, at least not without a medical report detailing so. These kinds of injuries wouldn’t occur with the force of a crashing vehicle—the angle this is at, you can see the victim would have been hit from behind. It’s a common tactic—”

“Used by gang hits,” he finished. “And how old were these?”

“I’d say at least fifteen years ago. Your victim is in his thirties based on what I see here, so these would have occurred when he was a teenager. Why would they say it was a car crash?” She asked curiously.

“There’s a police record of this person being involved in a vehicle crash around 15 years ago. Unfortunately, the hospital where the files were kept, including the precious x-rays and medical details of the crash, burned down in a fire two years ago. The files were so old they hadn’t been digitized yet.” The look on his face told Sakura she’d given him exactly what he needed.

“I can confidently say these weren’t caused by a crash,” she said firmly. “The likelihood of that is too slim to hold up in court, I’d say.” She paused. “Hey, I was wondering. Would you mind if I watched from observation when you go back into the interrogation? I want more experience dealing with that side of things.”

“Sure, I’d appreciate it. Any help you can give about the injury details while I’m in there would be welcome, too.” He gave her a nod.

“Mind filling me in? What are you investigating, exactly?” She was invested now that he’d brought her details.

“There’s been a gang that surfaced around... I would say twenty-five years ago or so, called Akatsuki. We’ve been doing what we can to track them as of late. In fact, that guy that was after you... we suspect he was a member, too. His name was Hidan.”

“I remember,” Sakura said quietly.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to remind you of that,” he said genuinely. “Anyway... Since then, we’ve been tracking their movements and whereabouts. The problem is, some of the cases we have linked are old cold cases, so there’s not a lot to go on.” They’d reached the interrogation room, and he gave her a wave. “Anyway, let me know over the intercom if there’s anything you can add.” With a short salute, he made his way into the interrogation room while she waited in the observation room.

As she watched... Ino’s words suddenly made sense. The way he moved, the way he talked, it drew a person in. He noticed every small detail of their reactions, using it advantageously. And much to Sakura’s surprise, he never raised his voice. There was no aggression, no threats, just conversation. She watched in awe as the interrogation seemed to go smoothly, without a hitch.

It was almost unbelievable. Within moments, he had a full confession, emotions and all. Sakura had become lost in what she was watching; she might have initially thought of him as a dumb muscle-brained cop before, but now? She was seeing something else. And it was clever. It was easy to mistake him for that kind of person, and she could see how well it served him. She had a feeling it wasn’t an intentional front, but regardless, it worked.

“He’s like a joker. A wild card,” she said to herself with a chuckle as he came into the observation room, grinning from ear to ear and looking proud.

“And another one down,” he proclaimed proudly.

“You know, I have to be honest, that was a treat to watch,” she admitted. “I thought you were kind of a dunce, but after seeing that, I see where your strength lies,” she praised. He chuckled in response, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he admitted sheepishly. “I’m not the best when it comes to technical or science-y stuff. I’m pretty bad at it, actually.” That made perfect sense.

“I get it. You’re not a book-study kind of guy. You just naturally know people and their mannerisms and motivations. That’s not a skill you can always learn, and to naturally be able to take advantage of it... that’s impressive. You’re a real wild card, Naruto.”

He let out another sheepish laugh. “Thanks, Sakura. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he said honestly. “Mind grabbing a coffee with me so we can talk?” More questions, huh?

“Sure. Let me just drop these off and I’ll meet you at the cafe across the street,” she said, indicating to the folder she was holding.

“Gotcha. Meet you there!” He gave her a wave and ducked out, heading first in the direction of his office to get his things.


	25. Support

"So... you said you had something you wanted to ask me?" Sakura questioned as she and Naruto took a seat in one of the quiet booths of the cafe.

"Yeah. Look, I hate to keep bringing it up 'cause I'm sure it's tough on you, but I wanted to ask. Why did you really go home early that day?" Sakura knew what day he was talking about. The day she'd been attacked.

"I told you at the hospital. I wasn't feeling well." It was a lie, but not one that would have any bearing on the investigation. She just didn't want to admit how upset she'd been over one statement.

"Sakura... please. I know that's not the full story," he coaxed softly. His tone was gentle and warm, and he seemed genuinely concerned. "Whatever it is, I know you wouldn't have left it out if it could have helped the investigation. You're too smart for that. But whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't say a word. Swear on it."

She awkwardly looked down at her cup, rubbing the side of it in an attempt to console herself before speaking. "I... I overheard the conversation you were having with Detective Uchiha," she said quietly. She didn't dare look up at Naruto. "I-I left it out because it... it wasn't relevant to the case, at the time. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have withheld, but--"

"No, Sakura, it's okay. I understand. And you're right--it wouldn't have helped the case anyway." He reached a hand out to gently rest on hers. "Take a deep breath, okay? What you heard is... not exactly what he meant, even though I'm certain you believe otherwise." Naruto knew what had been going on with Sasuke in that conversation. He was doing what he always did: distancing himself, not letting anyone get close enough to matter.

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning sad green eyes at him. His blue eyes stared back at her, warm and comforting.

"Listen, I've known Sasuke since we were kids. We call each other annoying pains-in-the-asses all the time, but at the end of the day, he's my best friend. He's not very good at letting people in. Honestly, I was surprised when I realized he let you stay with him. He hasn't even let _me_ over to his house before, let alone you." Naruto was effectively confirming a lot of what she already realized: that Sasuke was distant and that he was running hot and cold, back and forth, over and over again.

"The truth is, deep down he cares. I've never seen him so determined to stay by anyone's side the way he did when you were hurt. I think he knows that you overheard what he said--and he didn't mean it. He was just trying to shut me up as usual." Naruto let out a soft chuckle. "You mentioned last night that you had your eye on someone else, so... I'm guessing you meant him." Damn, he was perceptive. Within seconds he'd put the whole scenario together with only a single piece of information.

"Yeah," she admitted somberly. "You... you really think he cares that much?"

"Are you kidding? I _know_ it. He tries to hide it, but he's fixated. The problem he has is... he's not good at getting close to people. He's scared. His whole family died in a fire, and he was scarred--physically and emotionally--from it. He's afraid to let anyone in because they might get hurt like anyone else he's been close to. Hell, he still keeps me at a distance sometimes. I just know how to read him."

This was more than Sakura was expecting to learn about Sasuke. She was still uncertain about what Naruto was saying, but she was going to take it under consideration. "So... what do you think I should do, then?" She asked. "I think he's upset you and I went out last night, but it's strange; he encouraged me to go."

"Yeah. Sounds like him. And if you ask him, he'll tell you that you're better off." He took a sip of his coffee. "I think you're smart enough to make that decision for yourself, and I respect that. You told me we wouldn't work as a couple. If that's what you think, then that's that. It'd be unfair of me to try and force it, but I'm not going to throw away the chance at a friendship, either. It didn't work. That's just life." He shrugged. "I won't deny I'm a _little_ bummed, though."

Sakura chuckled. "I think I'd be worried if you weren't. I don't regret going along. I had a good time, and I think I needed it, too. Ino's the only person around here I know. I don't have many friends. You're... really good to talk to, too." She gave him a smile. His presence seemed to just brighten everything somehow. "Thanks, by the way. For all of this. I've been worried about bringing it up to him because I didn't know how to react, but I think I know now. I need some time to think, but... I'll see what I can do."

"Of course. I told you, Sakura. I'll be here for you, whatever you need. I take care of my friends." Ah, that goofy smile again. "Anyway, I'm going to head back. Oh! Don't forget, tonight's the party at Old Man's Ramen. We couldn't get the whole place booked so we'll have to deal with a few other patrons there, but we have a few tables booked. Sasuke never comes, but I want you to try something. Ask him to come along. See if he chooses to or not. I've asked him for years, and he's never done it. Not once." Not once, huh? Naruto had a point. She was inclined to test this theory once and for all.

"Okay. I'll give it a try. Maybe I'll be able to convince him over a hot dinner," she said with a laugh.

"Oh, that's unfair. Home-cooked meals are always the way to a man's heart." He feigned a heartbroken look. "Now look, if this works out, you're gonna owe me one, so if I come to you for advice on girls, you better pay up!"

Sakura laughed. "I've got you. And with me comes Ino, and if there's anybody who can work magic when it comes to girls and relationships, it's her. Don't worry." She stood up. "Anyway, I should get back. Sasuke and I have some case files to go over and organize and then I'll ask him." She stood up from her chair, hesitating for a moment as she looked back at the blonde detective.

"You... you really think he didn't mean what he said?" She asked, clearly uncertain. Those words had truly upset her; the way he'd said it, he sounded convinced.

"Yeah. I'm sure of it. He's not that kind of guy. He wouldn't have said anything of the sort if he knew you were listening. He would've just taken it out on me, probably."

Sakura chewed her lip. "Okay. See you tonight," she said with a wave, sauntering off and heading back up to Sasuke's office. She ducked in with her stack of files, closing the door behind her and setting the files down on his desk.

"Hey," she said cheerily, giving him a smile; the corners of his mouth twitched in response like he were on the verge of smiling back at her. "Here are all the files you need to finish and sign off on. Everything else is caught up and up to date and after you finish with those we'll be done and caught up on all our wrapped cases." She was quite glad they were this close to being caught up; it meant that they could easily take the evening off for the party and not have to worry about it.

"Good. I prefer to be on top of things." He took a sip of his coffee, looking at her curiously. "You look like you want to ask me something."

Ah, shoot. She'd been caught. "Um, yeah, actually. So there's that precinct party tonight, and I was wondering if you were going. I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure." That was the truth; she wasn't sure she wanted to go at all. Parties generally hadn't been her thing, and even being invited to one was a rarity. The only parties she'd ever been to in her youth were Ino's birthday parties, and even those hadn't been large. She just wasn't the type to get invited to those sorts of things.

Sasuke shrugged in response. "Maybe. Parties aren't usually my thing."

Sakura chuckled. "No? I would have thought you'd fit right in," she teased.

He stared at her for a long time, contemplating. "Do you want to go?" He asked, looking curious.

She shrugged. "I... yeah, I kind of do. I don't usually get invited to parties, but I don't know too many people here other than you, Ino, and Detective Uzumaki." It felt awkward to admit that, but she felt comfortable around him. She had a feeling he was going to be the last person to judge her.

He was silent again for a few minutes, deep in thought, before he spoke again. "Sure. We'll go." He paused. "You and DA Yamanaka probably want time to get ready, right? Why don't you head out early, and I'll meet the both of you. We can carpool." Wait, so--he was agreeing to go? She was standing there dumbfounded for a moment before realizing he'd given her the ok to go. She fumbled to grab her purse and jacket and scrambled down to where Ino's office was, rushing in and closing the door behind her.

The blonde stared at her, raising both eyebrows. "You've got that crisis look on your face," she teased.

"Sasuke's coming to the party. With us. Wants to carpool. He agreed. But only when I asked." The more she talked, the redder she was turning. Ino's jaw dropped at the news.

"He _never_ comes to the parties. He's always either working on something or conveniently picks up an extra shift or finds _some_ excuse not to go," she said, still staring. "He's totally going because _you_ want to."

"Yeah but— _why?"_ Sakura asked, looking exasperated. "You know what—no. Forget it. Forget I asked that. I need your help. Right now. I..."

"...You have nothing to wear." Ino got it quickly, clapping her hands together. "Forget all this, sweetie, we are going shopping, pronto. I am _so_ not letting you blow this opportunity. We'll get you something cute, party-like, and very you, a I'll do your hair, a touch of makeup, and he will _regret_ not asking you on a date himself." She squealed with excitement, grabbing her things and steering the stunned pinkette by the arm and out of the building to her car.

Oh god. Sakura felt like she was going to faint.


	26. Belle Âme

He loved to see that look in her eyes. He could tell by the way she talked about parties that she really wanted to go to; he could also tell she was hesitant to leave him behind. He was warring with himself once more, debating. This could be his chance if he dared to take it. Maybe he needed to. Maybe he needed to at least _try_ to be happy. He hadn't seen or heard anything in years... so it was possible he didn't have to live in fear of _him_ any longer.

Maybe he was already dead. Maybe that was why every lead he followed turned out to be a dead end.

But that look on her face... the way her whole expression lit up, like a child on Christmas morning rushing down the stairs to open presents. How could such a small thing make a person look so _happy?_ He wondered how she found such joy in these things.

Well... if it meant he got to see her smile, it was worth it in the end. If it meant she laughed and had fun, then he'd done his part. Happy and safe. That was all he wanted—no matter what he had to do to ensure she got that.

He saw her rush out, towed by her blonde best friend, and it made him chuckle. He'd give them the space they needed. He wouldn't need much time to get ready once it was time to go.

——————————————

One quick and efficient trip to the mall later and Sakura found herself steered into a chair that had been hauled up to the main bathroom of the house, seated in it as Ino stood behind her, various hair tools in hand. Luckily for the blonde, Sakura had done the duty of washing her hair that morning, making it easier to work with. She was carefully separating Sakura's hair into sections.

"Hey... Can I ask you something, Ino?" Sakura asked, staring at herself in the mirror.

"Of course you can," Ino replied, working on the braid she was creating.

"I... Do you really think I'm the kind of girl he'd go for?" The more she stared at herself, the more she wondered. She'd never had much confidence in herself, at least not compared to other women; having been single all her life, never even asked on a date until recently, she had very little motivation to even consider herself on any sort of level.

"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Ino had a feeling she knew where Sakura was going with this, but she asked anyway.

"I just mean... well, look at him. The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that he's totally out of my league. There's prettier girls out there, girls with nicer curves, with jobs that aren't obscenely morbid, that sort of thing." She was too used to being the weird girl. The smart girl. The bookworm with glasses. The nerd. Geek. Brainiac.

"You think being in any kind of 'league' matters to a guy like him? Sakura, sweetie, you are in a class of your own. You are both smart _and_ beautiful. All those girls who picked on you? They're just jealous you have brains and beauty. It's hard to have both. And girls like that tend to be a little full of themselves. Myself included," she proclaimed proudly.

"You're not full of yourself," Sakura defended.

"Compared to you, I am. You're way too modest about how you look. I mean, the modest style of dress suits you, don't get me wrong, but you don't give yourself enough credit. So stop. He wouldn't do all of this if you didn't mean _something_ to him. You just have to find out what." She pinned the braid in place, looking proud.

"And trust me, if he doesn't at least think about you tonight, he's a _fool_ , because you're going to be the prettiest thing at that party. Without a doubt." Ino was finishing up with her hair, putting a few pins in along the braid to add some fake cherry blossom accents to the look. She topped it off with a single cherry blossom clip to hold Sakura's bangs in place at the side, clapping her hands with satisfaction.

"Okay! Now for your makeup. Let's go simple, okay? A little shadow, some eyeliner, and how about a touch of lip gloss?" Ino suggested.

"Whatever you think works best. You're the master at this, not me." Sakura rarely wore much makeup; at most, she wore a touch of eyeliner, mascara, and lip balm. She just never felt compelled to wear more; it felt too unnatural to her. She preferred her natural appearance. If someone couldn't like the way she looked without makeup, they weren't any good for her as far as she was concerned. She wasn't going to hide behind layers and layers of it just to make herself appear attractive. To her, it felt like lying.

"Okay, simple it is. I know that's what you prefer, so we'll stick with that. Ooh, actually, I have something that's even more up your alley." She dug around in one of her bags, pulling out an unopened package and flaunting it. "Tinted lip balm. I know you prefer it, so if it's tinted it's kind of like a really, really light lipstick. Just a touch of colour with all the soothing nature of lip balm." Ino expertly opened the package and went to work, putting on the very finishing touches before shoving the outfit in Sakura's hands and ushering her into the washroom.

As she stood there staring at herself, she couldn't help but wonder. Would it be enough? Slowly she slipped the dress on; it fitted beautifully and the style was very much hers, but she still felt like something was missing. It was a simple black fit and flare dress, sleeveless with thick straps and a high collar. It reached to about her knees, leaving a little bit of leg exposed but still very modest like her usual style of dress. She was pairing it with a simple black bolero with sleeves that reached to her elbows. Ino had done wonders with her hair; rather than her normal headband, Ino had taken a section of her hair and braided it into a natural headband, pinning it in place with some pins that had small synthetic cherry blossoms on them. Finally, she wore a pair of black ballet flats to keep the look simple.

Tentatively she came out, a small energized squeal coming from Ino as the blonde ran up to her. "Oh. My. Gosh. You look amazing. You're just... ah, Sakura, you're just so pretty. He's going to love it. I promise. Everyone's going to love it. You look gorgeous." A soft, shy blush came across the pinkette's cheeks as she looked away modestly.

"Yeah, sure," she replied softly. "Are you, um, ready to go?"

"You bet, girl." Ino's hair had been quickly curled into waves earlier in the day, worn in a half updo. Her dress was much less modest than Sakura's; it was a purple lace vintage dress, with an asymmetrical skirt and what appeared to be a corset that only covered her waist and laced alongside each set of ribs. It had plain spaghetti straps, and she'd paired it with a black lace bolero that had bell sleeves. A pair of black high heels later, and she was ready to go.

"Wow. Not going to take bets on how many looks you're going to get with that dress," Sakura commented. "Whatever number I pick, it's probably going to be more." Her friend always looked hot, no matter what she wore; she'd heard other officers around the office talking about Ino frequently. A few, she knew, had even tried to ask her on a date, to no avail.

Ino went down first, leaving Sakura with a wink and a smile. It gave her a moment to gather herself, creeping toward the stairs as she could hear Ino talking to Sasuke. "I'll meet you two in the car," she said cheerily, and Sakura heard the door close behind her blonde friend. Damn it--Sakura knew exactly what Ino was doing. She was intentionally setting things up like this!

Taking a deep breath, Sakura slowly made her way down the stairs to face Sasuke, feeling the nerves twist her stomach into knots.

Sasuke thought that Sakura's friend was... strange. She seemed inclined to wait in the car, not that he cared. He'd been waiting for a while now, having got dressed and even had time to watch TV for a bit. The moment he heard Ino come down, he watched as she breezed out the front door, leaving her best friend behind.

Well, he couldn't just ditch. He'd at least wait for Sakura to come. Moments later he heard movement on the stairs, seeing her come down with the shyest look he'd ever seen. She was... _breathtaking._ He couldn't help but stare as she came down, wearing that tiny dress that hugged the small curves of her body; he always loved how modest her style of dress was. It gave her a soft, almost cute appearance that he found endearing. Small and adorable, if he were to describe it.

Sakura came down the stairs, coming up to him and wishing she had the guts to look at him with confidence. He watched as she walked up to him, unable to even meet his gaze. Sakura felt her cheeks flush softly, knowing very well he was staring at her, taking her appearance in; he seemed to do that more often than she realized. The way her cheeks flushed had to be the cutest thing he'd seen; she was so bashful around him, and he could tell she was nervous.

Swallowing his own nerves, he rubbed his chin with a gloved hand. "Hey," he said softly, doing his best to _avoid_ looking her up and down. "You, um... you look really good." Clearing his throat, he turned around and made his way to the door. "C'mon. Let's go." 

Sakura took a second to mentally catch up before she scrambled to follow, letting him do his final check while she set the alarm. He locked the door behind both of them, walking behind her to the car like an escort and letting her in the passenger side before going around to the drivers' side. Ino was already in the car, grinning from ear to ear at the two of them awkwardly getting into the front of the vehicle.

"Oh, by the way," the blonde said as she leaned forward from the back seat. "Don't worry about me getting home. Hinata's finishing up some files for me, so if you guys want to leave early or if you want to stay later than I do, I can call her and she'll drop me off. You two can have all the fun you like." Sakura gave Ino a sharp glare, earning a soft giggle from the blonde as she leaned back. At the pub, she was the first one out of the car and up the stairs, leaving the two of them to walk in together. Sakura couldn't help but let her mind wander, wishing that she knew what he was thinking, or what he was planning.

Drinks and fun. That was going to be tonight's game.


	27. Jealousy?

Once they were inside Sakura found herself feeling a bit overwhelmed. Their coworkers were all over in a corner of the pub, taking up quite a few tables in the process. There were a few other patrons in the bar, but not many; they mostly had it to themselves. Sakura was quickly rushed off by Ino to a group of girls, quickly pulled into their little group. They were all incredibly friendly; she finally had the opportunity to talk to their forensics and ballistics expert, Tenten Mitsashi; a weapon fanatic if Sakura had ever met one. The resident queen of Mikrosil. Sakura could tell she'd identified some of the most _obscure_ weapons on cases they'd worked.

Then there was Shikamaru, whom she'd yet to see; they were old high school acquaintances, and he'd dated Ino for a short time while they were in high school. He was married now to a blonde woman by the name of Temari; they'd met in college from what Sakura knew. She hadn't realized he was the head of their cybercrime division at the department. That had to be awkward for Ino.

Feeling mildly overwhelmed by the giggling women around her, Sakura ducked away from the group and made her way toward the bar, where she ordered a drink. It was quieter over there, away from the rest of the group; she could take a minute to gather her thoughts away from everyone before going back to socialize. One drink at the bar would be enough to do that.

As she'd ordered her drink she saw a dark-haired man sitting next to her. He was.. relatively good-looking if she was being honest; his hair was short and spiky at the top, and he had bright blue eyes that contrasted with the dark shade of hair. Admittedly, she was fond of dark hair, and the blue of his eyes was a beautiful contrast to his features.

"Hey there," he said, flashing her a suave smile. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, miss..?"

"Oh, um, Sakura," she said politely, giving him an awkward smile. "That's, um, very kind of you," she added with a soft blush, tucking her hair behind her ear. A nervous tic of hers; when she felt uncomfortable, she had a tendency to do that. The man leaned in like he was very interested and wanted a closer look at her.

"Sakura, huh? Menma. Menma Namikaze." A suave smile followed the introduction as he scooted his stool closer to her. "Saw you here with the cops. You one of them?"

"Medical examiner, actually. Technically forensic anthropologist and forensic pathologist, but... yeah." Menma nodded, stroking his chin lightly.

"Private Investigator, here. A pretty girl like you is wasted in a place like a morgue, though. Somethin' tells me you could do better than that." He was leaning in a bit more, making Sakura feel sort of... awkward. He was polite, but a little too forward for her tastes. It made her wary. The more she leaned back, the closer he inched, and with how crowded it was he was practically blocking her escape. Too close for comfort.

"Oh, well, that's, um, thank you," she stammered, eyes glancing around as she was looking for an out. She could _smell_ the alcohol on his breath; he'd clearly been drinking for quite a while. She did her best to slowly inch away little by little, but he just kept leaning closer. God, what was with her luck? One moment, she was dealing with serial killers making her a target, the next she was dealing with drunk, sketchy private investigators. If the guy was even a private investigator.

"You're a pretty little thing, huh? How long have you been in town? I certainly haven't seen you around much." He was looking at her curiously; were it anyone else and not a stranger, she might have been okay with it. Were it a certain dark-haired detective, she might have been more than okay with it. This on the other hand? Not so much. She was thinking quickly, trying to figure out the best way to get out of this situation when he spoke again.

"Say, why don't you and I get out of here? All these cops are a little too stuffy for me. Could make an exception for you, though." His eyes trailed from her hips all the way up to her face, clearly taking in the sights; it made her shudder internally from the thought. Disgusting. She wasn't a piece of meat! Damn it, this was one of those moments she cursed herself for not carrying pepper spray or something with her. And where the hell was the bartender to stop something like this? Wasn't that part of their job?

"No, really, that's fine," she said politely. "I'm just going to take my drink and--"

Just then, a hand smacked her drink out of her grasp. She recognized the touch; leather, smooth and well taken care of. She also recognized the very faint scent of cologne, just barely enough to pick up when she was close to him. Just what was he doing?! Pulling her out of the situation was one thing, but smacking her drink out of her hand? Was that _really_ necessary?!

What Sakura didn't know was that Sasuke had been watching the entire exchange from across the room. In fact, he'd had his eyes on her the entire evening; he never took his gaze off her for very long, a second or two at most, always making sure he could see where she was. He was keeping an eye on her for her own safety, and the moment he saw what was happening with Menma, he sprung into action. Within seconds he was out of his chair and heading in their direction, deeply intent on stopping the situation before it went someone it _shouldn't_ go.

"Take a hike," he said sharply at Menma, coming around to put himself between the two of them; Sakura practically felt dwarfed from behind the detective. There was a moment of silence as the two very alpha males sized each other up; the downside for Menma would be the fact that Sasuke was stone-cold sober; Sakura had seen him drinking plain seltzer and ginger ale so far throughout the night. Menma on the other hand was clearly in no shape to drive, let alone get in a fight.

He raised his hands and made a mocking expression, slowly backing away with a chuckle. "Sorry there. Didn't know this little flower was yours."

"She's not," he replied bluntly, taking a step toward Menma. "Not that it's any of your business." He pulled a couple of bills out of his pocket and tossed them at the guy. "Go. Get yourself a cab and get the hell out of here." Admittedly, were it not for the situation at hand, Sakura would have found Sasuke's sudden alpha tendencies _very_ attractive.

Nevertheless, that was it. That was the end of the night for her. Between hearing the firm concession that she _wasn't_ anything to him, the overwhelming presence of _people_ on a scale she wasn't used to interacting with, and the incident she'd just dealt with, she was done with the gathering for the night.

Except... he was her ride home. Damn it.

Sasuke watched her, seeing the change in her demeanour as he stepped closer to her. "You want to go home?" He asked gently. "I don't mind. I think I'm done with things for tonight anyway. Come on. Let's go." He could tell by her posture that she was nervous and uncomfortable; it was obvious in the way she seemed to shrink in on herself, the way she awkwardly rubbed her arm, and the way she was barely making eye contact. All signs of someone who was withdrawn and quiet about the situation. Gently reaching out to her, he placed a hand on the small of her back, using gentle fingers to guide her toward the door. His gaze met with Ino's and he nodded; she'd clearly seen the situation and knew what was going on. Bonus for him; he could count on the blonde to know the situation. He was confident she'd find her way home somehow, given she'd mentioned finding another ride.

Sakura let him lead her out of the bar, feeling dejected and glum. She got in the passenger side and sat down, doing her best to hold back her tears. She'd at least have a moment by herself when they got back to the house to let her feelings out where she wouldn't be caught.

The drive back was silent and awkward; Sasuke couldn't help the occasional glance in her direction. The look on her face tugged at his heartstrings; he could tell just how upset she was. Turning his eyes back to the road, he felt anger welling—anger at himself, mostly. He knew he was part of the root cause of all of this. It made his blood boil and made him know he _had_ to do something. He had to say something. He just didn't know what. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the real reason for his reluctance. That was too much to put on her shoulders, and it would only hurt her more in the end.

They reached the home, and he let her in first, taking his time to do the checks around the house while she disappeared upstairs. The moment they'd got there, Sakura had run up the stairs, forcing herself to stay composed. Her breaths had become heavy, and she rushed for the bathroom, resting her hands on the counter as she looked at herself. Some deep part of her hated what she saw. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt... underwhelming.

She backed away from the mirror, sinking to the floor with her knees up to her chest. She hadn't even realized she was crying. She was that done with everything.


	28. Amour Naissant

Sakura didn't realize who was standing just outside the door while she broke down. Once he'd done his checks around the house he'd come upstairs, hearing her from the hallway, stopping outside the door. His mind was at war with his conscience, but at the moment, he didn't care. Enough damage had been done, and in his heart, he knew he had to fix it. He gently pushed the door open, seeing her sitting on the floor; he carefully sat beside her, then reached over and put an arm over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his bare hand caressing her shoulder; he'd done the diligence of taking his gloves off to talk to her. His other hand came to her face, gently resting a palm on her cheek as he wiped away her tears.

She felt the hand on her cheek, the urge to pull away from him rising. The pessimist in her couldn't help but think this was just another of his yo-yo moments; give it a few more, and he'd pull away and give her the cold shoulder. "Sorry? Sorry for what?" She choked out through tears, sniffling and trying to wipe her face. She couldn't help leaning against him; his presence was still deeply comforting to her.

"That day, you went home early because you heard what I said, didn't you?" He hadn't pulled away from her; his fingers were gently running through the sides of her hair, reaching to tuck it behind her ear. The back of his knuckles stroked her cheek gently, his gaze locked on her.

"What?" She asked sadly, looking up at him. "You... You knew?" Just the thought of him knowing that she heard what he'd said frustrated her. It made her angry. "You knew this whole time, and you never said anything?!" She stood up, moving away from him as more tears welled in her eyes; he stood when she did, guilt in his gaze and an apologetic expression on his face.

"I... I suspected." His voice was calm and level.

"So you knew. You knew exactly what you said, and you said nothing! I don't get it! I don't get you at all!" She yelled, hands balling into fists at her sides. "One minute you're all nice and kind and taking care of me, and you won't leave my side, and the next it's like I'm annoying you! You give me the cold shoulder, shut me out when I think there's something, and I'm just... It's not fair!" All of her frustrations were coming out now. She lashed out, attempting to brush past him through the doorway, even weakly thudding her fist against his chest.

He wasn't going to let her go by. When she raised her fist he caught her wrist; his grip was firm but gentle, enough that it turned her back around to face him in the hallway. His other hand wrapped around her back, pulling her tightly against him in a firm embrace.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, a hand reaching up to stroke her hair. "I don't... It's a lot to explain. I didn't mean what I said, that day. I... I said it to shut Naruto up. I knew if I said something like that, it'd get him off my case. If I'd known you were listening, I never would have said that. I'm so sorry." His voice had become softer and softer, and Sakura couldn't help what she heard. She could tell by his tone, by his body language, by the way in which he held her that he was sorry.

They stood there for a while, Sakura sniffling and sobbing against him. He continued to stroke her hair, whispering softly in her ear. She needed to get those emotions out, he knew; her frustrations with him were completely warranted. Once she'd calmed down he slowly released his grip, letting their gazes meet.

"Beautiful girls shouldn't be made to cry this much," he said, his lips twitching into a smile; his hand was on her face again, thumb stroking her cheek. She chuckled pitifully and leaned into his palm, her heart still a tussle of emotions. Right now, she couldn't quite believe those words, at least not when it came to herself, even if what he was saying was genuine.

"Why?" She asked. "I mean... why do you push me away so much? I just... I don't understand. Is it something I did?" She saw him inhale slowly, his gaze turning contemplative like he was looking for the right words.

"...yes and no," he said honestly. "You... I don't know if I can tell you everything, at least not right now. But... To put it simply, I pushed you away because... because a part of me didn't want to push you away. So I pushed harder—too hard. I'm sorry for that. You didn't deserve that. I just... You deserve better than what I have to offer. Much better." It hurt him to say that. He wanted to give her everything.

"What if that's not what I want?" She asked simply. "What if... what if what I want is what you have? Is it fair for you to decide that for me?" Oh, that frustrated him. It frustrated him because he knew she was right. And he was a fool for not realizing it sooner. He was a fool for not considering that.

"I... Listen, Sakura, I... I make no promises. None. I'm not going to promise you anything, and I'm not going to tell you this will ever be easy, but... I owe you... something. At the very least." That much was the truth. He owed her more than just something small, but that would just have to come with time. He had to take this slow if he was going to even have a chance of doing things right.

Sakura, on the other hand, was confused. What did he owe her at this point? He'd apologized, and she was convinced that was the best she was going to get. She didn't understand exactly what he was getting at.

His hand reached up to her face again, gaze staring down at her. He rested a palm on her cheek, thumb gently caressing beneath her eye, then turning so his knuckles brushed her cheek. Sakura could feel her heart racing, her face heating up in response. She didn't know what to feel, what to think; it felt like she couldn't breathe, and yet she felt safe and comfortable.

They stood there for what felt like forever, just staring at one another. It was like a silent conversation; in those moments, Sakura felt like she learned more about Sasuke than she had in the past month and a half that they'd known each other. In his eyes, she saw a mix of emotions: she saw care and adoration, a genuine kindness deep down. He was a good person, and he was someone who cared about her very deeply. It was masking pain and agony, pain from previous loss and wounds that he'd yet to come to terms with. He was full of fear and worry, for reasons Sakura couldn't figure out; she was certain, though, that it had something to do with his past. Knowing what she did... She couldn't really blame him. He was afraid of losing something precious permanently; that was to be expected. Yet there was a hint of mystery in his gaze like there were details of that life that only _he_ knew. That he'd never spoken of. That he feared more than anything in the world.

He saw similar hidden emotions in Sakura's eyes. What he saw was a shy girl, lacking confidence in herself when it came to her love life. A girl who desperately wanted to be noticed, but didn't have the kind of ego or confidence that would make her go out of her way to do that. A girl who would look in the mirror and find herself unable to believe just how beautiful she was. Underneath that, she was kind, with a big heart; she had a capacity to care and love that reminded him of very few people in the world. No, it reminded him of one particular person. It was the kind of unconditional love he'd once seen from someone very, very long ago.

The kind of unconditional love that he saw in his mother's eyes, no matter what either of her sons had got themselves into. How could he have been such a fool not to see that? How could he have been so foolish not to realize that the sadness he saw in her gaze was caused by _him_ , and him alone?

Slowly, he leaned in, pressing his lips gently against hers. It was the only movement that broke their gazes apart; she was quick to return the gesture, hands shakily resting against his chest. One arm pulled her in close to him as their lips locked in a tender kiss, the other sliding from her cheek to the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair. Her own hands slipped upward to lock around his neck, fingers playing at the edge of his hair.

How long they stayed tangled together, no one could have guessed; it felt like time stopped around them. Sasuke could hear his heart pounding in his chest, so loud he could feel it in his ears; his kiss was full of passion and a hint of anger at himself for waiting this long to kiss her. Sakura, on the other hand, almost felt dizzy; if his arm hadn't been so securely around her she might have buckled at the knees with how weak hers were. Eventually, they broke apart to take a breath, and Sakura held a grip on his shoulders so she wouldn't collapse right there.

"Don't faint on me, cherry blossom," he teased in a soft tone, making sure his arm was solidly around her. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, a whine of embarrassment coming from her as she hid her face against his shoulder, mumbling for him to shut up. Her reaction earned a chuckle out of him as he ran his fingers up and down her spine gently. He felt... better, having done something. Deep in the back of his mind, he was beginning to wonder if he'd been wrong all along about his need to remain distant. Having her close was... nice. It made him feel warm and loving, a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time.

"C'mon. We've had a long day, and with our luck, we'll get an early call for a case. Let's get some sleep," he said softly as he slowly released her. There was reluctance in his movements; he didn't want to let her go, not after that. 

"Sure," she said softly, almost meekly. She was still nervous and bashful around him, even after that? How adorable. He gave her a curt nod and made his way downstairs, intending to get a few things ready in case they had to leave early the next morning. 


End file.
